r 


K. 


L1PI?ARY 

UNivtn  .'IV  OF 

CMlf  i.  rtfilA 

SAN  JlLGO 


Social  Sciences  &  Humanities  Library 

University  of  California,  San  Diego 
Please  Note:  This  item  is  subject  to  recall. 

Date  Due                              | 

itnn  A  K  KM 

APR  W  ^  «"•• 

C\  39  (5/97)                                                                         UCSD  Lib. 

Vi'l'i!yfi^?i',T,T„?.^„9i^'i"'0f  NIA,  SAN  DIEGO 


378 


3  1822  02479 


^^    (f3^,<,^^Et^Xij^, 


/Lc^ .  ot  o-//  r. 


An  Animal  Concert. —  Page  5 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2007  with  funding  from 

IVIicrosoft  Corporation 


http://www.archive.org/details/anecdotesofanimaOObilliala 


CONTENTS 


D 


Amusing  Mimic,  An   . 

24 

Dog  Smugglers  . 

168 

Animal  Concerts 

5 

Dolphin,  The      . 

50 

Are  Beasts  mere  Machines? 

18^ 

Drawing  Water  . 

58 

Asking  Assistance 

166 

E 

Ass  Castaway,  An 

184 

Elephant's  Revenge,  An 

104 

B 

Elephant  Rope  Dancing 

-  m 

Bear  and  Child,  The 

18 

Escape  of  Jengi    Khan 

178 

Bear  Cubs,  The 

162 

F 

Broken  Heart,  The 

60 

Faithful  Companion,  A 

70 

C 

Faithful,Though  Unloved 

68 

Carrier's  Dog,  A 

160 

Faithful  unto  Death    . 

'  112 

Cat  and  the  Crows,  The     . 

30 

False  Alarm,  A  . 

188 

Catcher  Caught,  The 

154 

Filial  Duty 

38 

Charitable  Canary,  A 

148 

Foraging     . 

120 

Child  Saved,  A  . 

100 

Fox  Chasing 

94 

Choosing  the  Least  of  Two  Evil; 

5         150 

G 

Clever  Crow,  A  . 

20 

Goat,  The 

92 

Comedy  of  Elephants,  -A 

64 

Going  to  Market 

152 

Crab  Fishing 

86 

Good  Finder,  A. 

52 

Cunning  as  a  Fox 

66 

Grateful  Lioness,  A     . 

10 

D 

Grateful  Return,  A     . 

138 

Death  of  Antiochns  Revenged,  T 

he       78 

H 

Deceiving  the  Fowler 

16t 

Heroism  of  an  Irish  Hen 

52 

Dinner  Bell,  The 

118 

Honors  to  the  Living  and  1 

he  Dead    108 

Division  of  Labor 

144 

Horse  and  Greyhound,  The 

88 

Dog  and  the  Goose,  The    . 

76 

Humane  Society,  A 

172 

Dog  of  Montargis,  The 

84 

J 

Dog  Sheep-stealer,  A 

40 

Just  Retahation 

48 

CONTENTS 


Lion  and  his  Keeper  . 
Long  Lost  Found  Again 
M 

Making  Sure 

Mice  as  Sailors  . 

Monkey  versus  Snake 

Mother's  Affection,  A 

Mother  Watching  her  Young,  A 

Musical  Mice 

Musical  Seals 

N 
Newfoundland  Dog,  The     . 
Noble  Perseverance 
Noble  Revenge,  A 

O" 

Odd  Family,  An 
Old  Habits 
Ostrich  Riding    . 

P 

Pig  Pointer,  The 
Porus  Saved  by  his  Elephant 
Power  of  Music,  The. 
Providential  Safe  Conduct,  A 

Q 

Quarrelsome  Apes 

R 

Rare  Honesty 
Refugee  Squirrel,  A    . 
Remarkable  Newsman,  A    . 
Remorse  .         .         .         , 


126 

82 

16 
56 
110 
42 
174 
158 
113 

6 
28 
80 


,^V. 


49 


100 

134 
170 

22 
74 

186 

142 

176 

12 

62 


R 

Retribution 

Revenge 

Rights  of  HospitaUty,  The 

S 
Sabinus  and  his  Dog  . 
Sharp-witted  Bruin 
Shepherd's  Dog,  The 
Shrewd  Guesser,  A 
Sly  Couple,  A     . 
Snake  Destroyers 
Sonnini  and  his  Cat    . 
Strange  Foster  Mother,  A 
Strange  Mouser,  A 
Strange  Playmates 
Strange  Protector,  A  . 
Strange  Rooks 
Studying     . 


Talking  Parrot,  A 
Tame  Colony,  A 
Tame  Hares 
Tame  Seagull,  I'he 
Travellers 

U 

Usurper  Punished,  A  . 

w 

Watch  Dog,  The 
Wise  Ourang-Outang  . 
Wrens  Learning  to  Sing 


102 
54 
96 

46 

14 

34 

180 

P8 

^fC 

116 

114 

44 

106 

124 

130 

8 

146 

161 

132 

122 

36 

128 

90 
136 
140 


JNECDOTES    OF    ANIMALS 


I 

ANIMAL  CONCERTS 

AN  abbot,  a  man  of  wit,  and  skilled  in  the  making  of  new  musi- 
cal instruments,  was  ordered  by  Louis  XI.,  king  of  France, 
more  in  jest  than  earnest,  to  procure  him  a  concert  of  swines'  voices. 
The  abbot  said  that  the  thing  could  doubtless  be  done,  but  it  would 
cost  a  good  deal  of  money.  The  king  ordered  that  he  should  have 
as  much  as  he  required  for  the  purpose.  The  abbot  then  contrived 
as  strange  a  thing  as  ever  was  seen.  Out  of  a  great  number  of  hogs 
of  various  ages,  which  he  got  together  under  a  tent,  or  pavilion,  cov- 
ered with  velvet,  and  before  which  he  had  a  table  of  wood  painted 
with  a  certain  number  of  keys,  he  made  an  organical  instrument,  and 
as  he  played  upon  the  keys  with  little  spikes  which  pricked  the  hogs, 
he  made  them  cry  in  such  order  and  consonance  that  he  highly 
delighted  the  king  and  all  his  company. 


JNECDOTES     OF    ANIMALS 


n 

A  NEWFOUNDLAND  DOG 

ONE  of  the  magistrates  in  Harbor  Grace,  in  Newfoundland, 
had  an  old  dog  of  the  regular  web-footed  species  peculiar  to 
that  island,  who  was  in  the  habit  of  carrying  a  lantern  before  his 
master  at  night,  as  steadily  as  the  most  attentive  servant  could  do, 
stopping  short  when  his  master  made  a  stop,  and  going  ahead  when 
he  was  ready  to  follow. 

If  his  master  was  away  from  home,  and  the  command  was  given 
*'Go  fetch  thy  master,"  he  would  at  once  pick  up  the  lantern,  hold 
it  fast  between  his  teeth,  and  start  for  the  town,  which  was  more 
than  a  mile  away  from  the  home  of  his  master.  He  would  stop  at 
the  door  of  every  house  which  he  knew  his  master  was  in  the  habit 
of  visiting,  and  laying  down  his  lantern,  growl  and  strike  the  door 
making  all  the  noise  in  his  power,  until  it  was  opened.  If  his  mas- 
ter was  not  in  the  house,  he  would  go  on  farther  in  the  same  way, 
till  he  found  him.  If  he  had  gone  with  him  only  once  to  a  house, 
this  was  enough  to  make  him  take  in  that  house  in  his  rounds. 


ylNECDOTES     OF    ANIMALS 


8  JNECDOTES    OF    ANIMALS 


m 

STUDYING 

A  MAGPIE  belonging  to  a  barber  in  Rome,  could  imitate 
very  perfectly  almost  everything  it  heard.  Some  trumpets 
happened  one  day  to  be  sounded  before  the  shop,  and  for  a  day  or 
two  afterward  the  magpie  was  quite  mute,  and  seemed  sad  and  mel- 
ancholy. All  who  knew  it  supposed  that  the  sound  of  the  trumpets 
had  so  stunned  it  as  to  rob  it  at  once  of  both  voice  and  hearing. 

But  this  was  not  the  case,  as  very  soon  appeared.  The  bird  had 
all  this  time  been  studying  how  to  imitate  the  sound  of  the  trumpets; 
and  when  at  last  master  of  it,  the  magpie,  to  the  astonishment  of  all 
its  friends,  suddenly  broke  its  long  silence  by  a  perfect  imitation  of 
the  flourish  of  trumpets  it  had  heard;  repeating  with  the  greatest 
exactness  all  the  repetitions,  stops,  and  changes.  The  learning  of 
this  lesson,  however,  so  exhausted  the  magpie's  brain  that  it  forgot 
everything  it  had  known  before. 


JNECDOTES    OF    ANIMALS 


10  JNECDOTES    OF   ANIMALS 


IV 
A  GRATEFUL  LIONESS 

A  DREADFUL  famine  raged  at  Buenos  Ayres,  yet  the  gov- 
ernor, afraid  of  giving  the  Indians  a  habit  of  spilling  Spanish 
blood,  forbade  the  people,  on  pain  of  death,  to  go  into  the  fields  in 
search  of  food,  and  he  placed  soldiers  at  all  outlets  to  the  country, 
with  orders  to  fire  upon  those  who  should  try  to  disobey  him. 

However,  a  woman,  called  Maldonata,  was  artful  enough  to  get 
past  the  watchful  guards,  and  made  her  escape.  After  wandering 
about  the  country  for  a  long  time,  she  came  upon  a  cave  into  which 
she  went.  As  soon  as  she  was  inside,  she  saw  therein  a  lioness,  the 
sight  of  which  frightened  her  greatly.  She  was,  however,  soon  qui- 
eted by  the  caresses  of  the  animal,  who  in  return  for  a  service  done 
for  her  by  the  woman,  showed  every  sign  of  affection  and  friendli- 
ness. She  never  returned  from  searching  after  her  own  daily  food 
without  laying  a  part  of  it  at  the  feet  of  Maldonata,  until  her  cubs 
were  large  and  strong  enough  to  walk  abroad,  then  she  took  them  out 
one  day  and  never  came  back. 

Some  time  after  this  Maldonata  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Span- 
iards, and  was  brought  back  to  Buenos  Ayres  on  the  charge  of  hav- 
ing left  the  city  contrary  to  orders.  The  governor,  a  man  of  cruelty, 
condemned  the  poor  woman  to  a  death  which  none  but  the  most- 
cruel  tyrant  could  have  thought  of.     He  ordered  some  soldiers  to 


JNECDOTES    OF    ANIMALS 


II 


12  JNECDOTES    OF    ANIMALS 

take  her  out  into  the  country,  and  leave  her  tied  to  a  tree,  either  to 
die  of  hunger,  or  be  torn  to  pieces  by  the  wild  beasts.  Two  days 
later,  he  sent  the  same  soldiers  to  see  what  had  happened  to  her. 
To  their  great  surprise,  they  found  her  alive  and  unhurt,  though 
surrounded  by  lions  and  tigers,  which  a  lioness  at  her  feet  kept  at 
some  distance.  As  soon  as  the  lioness  saw  the  soldiers,  she  fell  back 
a  little,  so  they  were  able  to  unbind  Maldonata,  who  told  them  the 
story  of  this  lioness,  whom  she  knew  to  be  the  same  one  she  had 
formerly  helped  in  the  cavern.  When  the  soldiers  were  taking  Mal- 
donata away,  the  lioness  fawned  upon  her,  as  though  unwilling  to 
part  from  her.  The  soldiers  repeated  the  story  to  their  commander, 
who  could  do  no  less  than  pardon  the  woman  who  had  been  so  won- 
derfully protected,  or  he  would  have  pr?)ven, himself  less  humane 
than  the  lions  themselves. 


V 
A  REMARKABLE  NEWSMAN 

ONE  of  the  carriers  of  a  large  newspaper  being  ill,  his  son  took 
his  place;  but,  not  knowing  the  subscribers  he  was  to  sup- 
ply, he  took  for  his  guide  a  dog  which  had  usually  gone  over  the 
route  with  his  father.  The  animal  trotted  on  ahead  of  the  boy  and 
stopped  at  every  door  where  the  paper  was  to  be  left,  without  mak- 
ing a  single  mistake,  or  forgetting  anybody. 


JNECDOTES    OF    ANIMALS 


13 


14  JNECDOTES    OF    ANIMALS 


VI 
SHARP-WITTED  BRUIN 

THE  captain  of  a  Greenland  whaler  being  anxious  to  secure  a 
bear,  without  wounding  the  skin,  made  trial  of  the  trick  of 
laying  a  noose  of  rope  in  the  snow,  and  placing  a  piece  of  meat  with- 
in it.  A  bear,  roaming  over  the  ice  nearby  was  soon  attracted  to 
the  spot  by  the  smell  of  the  dainty  morsel.  He  saw  the  bait,  crept 
up  cautiously,  and  seized  it  in  his  mouth;  but  his  foot  at  the  same 
time,  by  a  jerk  of  the  rope,  became  entangled  in  the  noose.  He  qui- 
etly pushed  it  off  with  his  paw,  and  walked  slowly  away.  Having 
eaten  the  piece  he  had  carried  away  with  him,  he  returned.  The 
noose,  with  another  piece  of  meat,  having  been  replaced,  he  pushed 
the  rope  aside,  and  again  walked  off  with  his  capture.  A  third 
time  the  noose  was  laid,  but  having  seen  how  clever  the  bear  was, 
the  sailors  buried  the  rope  beneath  the  snow,  and  laid  the  bait  in  a 
deep  hole  dug  in  the  centre.  The  bear  once  more  came  back,  and 
the  sailors  thought  they  were  now  sure  of  success.  But  bruin,  much 
wiser  than  they  expected,  after  snuffing  about  the  place  for  a  few 
moments,  scraped  the  snow  away  with  his  paws,  threw  the  rope 
aside  once  more,  and  again  escaped  unhurt  with  his  prize. 


JNECDOTES    OF   ANIMALS 


15 


16  JNECDOTES    OF    ANIMALS 


vn 
MAKING  SURE 

DURING  the  war  between  Augustus  Caesar  and  Mark  Anto- 
ny, when  all  the  world  stood  wondering  and  uncertain  as 
to  which  one  Fortune  would  favor,  a  poor  man  at  Rome,  in  order 
to  be  prepared  for  making,  in  either  event,  a  bold  move  for  his  own 
advancement,  hit  upon  the  following  clever  plan.  He  set  himself 
to  the  training  of  two  crows  with  such  great  care,  ihki  at  length 
he  had  taught  them  to  pronounce  with  great  distinctness,  the  one 
a  salutation  to  Caesar,  and  the  other  a  salutation  to  Antony. 

When  Augustus  returned  the  conqueror,  the  man  went  out  to 
meet  him  with  the  proper  crow  perched  on  his  fist,  and  every  now 
and  then  it  kept  calling  out,  ''Salve,  Coesar,  Victor  Imperaiorl^' 
"Hail,  Caesar,  Conqueror  and  Imperator!"  Augustus,  greatly 
amused  and  delighted  with  so  novel  a  greeting,  bought  the  gifted 
bird  of  the  man  for  a  sum  which  was  so  large  that  it  made  him  rich. 


JNECDOTES     OF    ANIMALS 


17 


18  JNECDOTES    OF    ANIMALS 


vm 
THE  BEAR  AND  THE  CHILD 

LEOPOLD,  Duke  of  Lorraine,  had  a  bear  called  Marco,  of 
whose  sagacity  we  have  this  remarkable  story.  One  cold 
winter  day,  a  boy,  almost  frozen  with  the  cold,  entered  Marco's 
hut,  without  thinking  of  the  danger  which  he  ran  in  thus  exposing 
himself  to  the  mercy  of  the  animal  which  was  in  there.  Marco,  how- 
ever, instead  of  doing  the  child  any  injury,  took  him  between  his 
paws,  and  warmed  him  by  pressing  him  to  his  breast  until  the  next 
morning,  when  he  let  him  go.  The  boy  came  back  to  the  hut  in  the 
evening,  and  was  received  with  the  same  affection.  For  several  days 
he  had  no  other  home,  and  it  added  not  a  little  to  his  joy  to  see  Ihat 
the  bear  always  saved  part  of  his  food  for  him.  A  number  of  days 
passed  in  this  way  without  the  servants  knowing  anything  of  what 
was  going  on.  At  length,  when  one  of  them  came  one  day,  rather 
later  than  usual,  to  bring  the  bear  his  supper,  he  was  greatly  sur- 
prised to  see  the  huge  animal  roll  his  eyes  in  a  furious  manner,  and 
act  as  if  he  wished  him  to  make  as  little  noise  as  possible,  for  feaj' 
of  awaking  the  child  whom  he  held  clasped  to  his  breast.  The  ani- 
mal, though  very  hungry,  did  not  seem  to  be  the  least  moved  by  the 
sight  of  the  food  which  was  placed  before  him.  The  story  of  this 
strange  incident  was  soon  spread  at  court,  and  reached  the  ears  of 


JNECDOTES    OF   ANIMALS 


19 


20  JNECDOTES     OF    ANIMALS 

Leopold;  who,  with  part  of  his  courtiers,  was  anxious  to  learn  if  the 
tale  of  Marco's  generosity  were  true.  Several  of  them  spent  the 
night  near  his  hut,  and  saw  with  astonishment  that  the  bear  never 
stirred  as  long  as  his  guest  showed  a  desire  to  sleep.  At  dawn  the 
child  awoke,  was  very  much  ashamed  to  find  that  he  was  discovered, 
and,  fearing  that  he  would  be  punished,  begged  pardon.  The  bear, 
however,  caressed  him,  and  tried  to  get  him  to  eat  what  had  been 
brought  to  him  the  evening  before.  He  did  this  at  the  request  of  the 
courtiers,  who  conducted  him  to  the  prince.  Having  learned  the 
whole  story,  Leopold  ordered  the  little  boy  to  be  taken  care  of,  and 
he  would,  no  doubt,  have  soon  made  his  fortune,  had  he  not  died  a 
short  time  afterward. 


IX 

A  CLEVER  CROW 

A  CARRION  crow,  seeing  on  a  lawn,  a  brood  of  fourteen 
chickens  under  the  care  of  a  mother-hen,  picked  up  one  I 
but  when  a  young  lady  opened  a  window  and  gave  the  alarm,  the 
robber  dropped  his  prey.  In  the  course  of  the  day,  however,  the 
thief  returned,  together  with  thirteen  other  crows.  Then  each  one 
seized  a  chick,  and  thus  the  whole  brood  was  carried  off  at  once. 


JNECDOTES    OF    ANIMALS 


21 


22  JNECDOTES    OF    ANIMALS 


X 

THE  POWER  OF  MUSIC 

ONE  Sunday  evening,  five  singers  were  walking  on  the  banks 
of  a  river.  After  some  time,  being  tired  with  walking,  they 
sat  down  on  the  grass,  and  began  to  sing.  The  field  on  which  they 
sat  was  bounded  on  one  side  by  a  wood,  out  of  which,  as  they  were 
singing,  they  noticed  a  hare  pass  with  great  swiftness  toward  the 
place  where  they  were  sitting,  and  at  about  twenty  yards*  distance 
from  them,  it  stopped.  It  then  seemed  greatly  delighted  with  the 
music,  often  turning  up  the  side  of  its  head  so  as  to  hear  more  easily. 
As  soon  as  the  singing  was  over,  the  hare  returned  slowly  toward 
the  wood.  When  she  had  nearly  reached  the  end  of  the  field,  the 
singers  began  to  sing  the  same  piece  again.  The  hare  stopped, 
turned  round,  and  came  swiftly  back  to  about  the  same  distance 
as  before,  where  she  seemed  to  listen  with  great  delight,  till  they 
had  finished,  when  she  returned  again  by  a  slow  pace  up  the  field, 
and  entered  the  wood. 


JNECDOTES    OF   ANIMALS  23 


24  JNECDOTES    OF   ANIMALS 


JO. 

AN  AMUSING  MIMIC 

A  PRIEST  once  brought  up  an  ourang-outang,  which  became 
so  fond  of  him  that,  wherever  he  went,  it  always  wanted  to 
go  with  him.  Whenever,  therefore,  he  had  to  perform  the  service 
of  his  church,  he  was  obliged  to  shut  him  up  in  his  room.  Once, 
however,  the  animal  got  out,  and  followed  the  father  to  the  church. 
Silently  mounting  the  sounding  board  above  the  pulpit,  he  lay  per- 
fectly still  till  the  sermon  commenced.  He  then  crept  to  the  edge, 
and  looking  at  the  preacher,  imitated  all  his  gestures  in  so  amusing 
a  manner  that  the  congregation  could  not  help  laughing.  The  fath- 
er, surprised  and  confused  by  this  ill-timed  mirth,  severely  rebuked 
his  audience  for  their  inattention.  The  reproof  failed  in  its  effect; 
the  congregation  still  laughed,  and  the  preacher  in  the  warmth  of 
his  zeal,  spoke  with  still  more  force  and  action.  The  ape  mimicked 
him  so  exactly  that  the  congregation  could  no  longer  restrain  itself, 
but  burst  out  into  long  and  continued  laughter.  A  friend  of  the 
preacher  at  length  stepped  up  to  him,  and  pointed  out  the  cause  of 
this  improper  conduct;  and  such  was  the  roguish  air  of  the  animal 
that  it  was  with  the  utmost  difficulty  that  the  preacher  himself  kept 
from  laughing,  while  he  ordered  the  servants  of  the  church  to  take 
the  mischievous  ape  away. 


JNECDOTES    OF    ANIMALS 


25 


26  JNECDOTES    OF   ANIMALS 


OLD  HABITS 

A  FAMOUS  Scotch  lawyer,  having  cause  to  visit  London, 
decided  to  make  the  journey  on  horseback  rather  than  by 
post;  for  this  was  before  the  days  of  railways.  He,  therefore,  pur- 
chased a  horse,  and  on  his  arrival  in  London,  sold  his  nag,  planning 
to  buy  another  for  the  return  journey.  When  he  had  finished  his 
business,  and  was  ready  to  set  out  for  home,  he  went  to  Smithfield 
to  buy  another  horse.  About  dusk,  a  handsome  horse  was  offered 
to  him  at  so  cheap  a  rate,  that  he  suspected  the  animal  might  not  be 
sound ;  but  as  he  could  not  find  anything  the  matter  with  the  horse, 
he  bought  it.  Next  morning  he  set  out  on  his  journey;  his  horse  had 
excellent  paces,  and  the  first  few  miles,  while  the  road  was  well  fre- 
quented, our  traveller  spent  in  congratulating  himself  on  his  good 
fortune.  On  Finchley  Common  the  traveller  met  a  clergyman  driv- 
ing a  one-horse  chaise.  There  was  nobody  within  sight,  and  the 
horse  by  his  actions  plainly  showed  what  had  been  the  business  of 
his  former  master.  Instead  of  passing  the  chaise,  he  laid  his  breast 
close  up  to  it,  and  stopped  it,  having  no  doubt  that  his  rider  would 
take  advantage  of  so  fair  a  chance  of  following  his  trade.  The  cler- 
gyman, under  the  same  mistake,  took  out  his  purse  without  being 
asked,  and  assured  the  innocent  and  surprised  horseman  that  it  was 


JNECDOTES    OF    ANIMALS 


27 


28  JNECDOTES    OF    ANIMALS 

not  necessary  to  draw  his  pistol.  The  traveler  drew  back  his  horse 
with  apologies  to  the  gentleman,  whom  he  had  unwillingly  fright- 
ened, and  pursued  his  journey.  The  horse  next  made  the  same  sus- 
picious approach  to  a  coach,  from  the  windows  of  which  a  blunder- 
buss was  leveled,  with  threats  of  death  to  the  rider,  who  was  inno- 
cent of  all  offense  in  deed  or  word.  In  short,  after  his  life  had  t»een 
once  or  twice  endangered  by  the  suspicions  to  which  his  horse's 
conduct  gave  rise,  and  his  liberty  as  often  threatened  by  peace  oflS- 
cers,  who  were  disposed  to  seize  him  as  a  notorious  highwayman, 
he  found  himself  obliged  to  part  with  the  animal  for  a  mere  trifle, 
and  had  to  purchase  at  a  dearer  rate,  a  horse  of  less  fine  figure  and 
action  but  of  better  morals. 


xm 
NOBLE  PERSEVERENCE 

ELEPHANTS  were,  of  old,  employed  in  India  in  the  launching 
of  ships.  It  is  told  of  one,  that,  being  directed  to  force  a  very 
large  ship  into  the  water,  the  work  proved  to  much  for  its  strength. 
Its  master,  in  sarcastic  tones  bade  the  keeper  take  away  the  lazy 
beast,  and  bring  another.  The  poor  ainmal  instantly  put  forth  still 
greater  efforts,  fractured  his  skull,  and  died  on  the  spot. 


JNECDOTES     OF    ANIMALS  29 


30  JNECDOTES     OF    ANIMALS 


XIV 
THE  CAT  AND  THE  CROWS 

A  PAIR  of  crows  once  made  their  nest  in  one  of  the  trees  that 
were  planted  round  the  garden  of  a  gentleman,  who,  in  his 
morning  walks,  was  often  amused  by  watching  furious  combats 
between  the  crows  and  a  cat.  One  morning  the  battle  raged  more 
fiercely  than  usual,  till  at  last  the  cat  gave  way,  and  took  shelter 
under  a  hedge,  as  if  to  wait  a  better  chance  of  escaping  to  the  house. 
The  crows  continued  for  a  short  time  to  make  a  threatening  noise; 
but  seeing  that  on  the  ground  they  could  do  nothing  more  than 
threaten,  one  of  them  lifted  a  stone  from  the  middle  of  the  garden, 
and  perched  with  it  on  a  tree  planted  in  the  hedge,  where  she  sat, 
watching  the  movements  of  the  cat,  who,  she  feared,  was  after  her 
little  ones.  As  the  cat  crept  along  under  the  hedge,  the  crow  fol- 
lowed her,  flying  from  branch  to  branch,  and  from  tree  to  tree;  and 
when  at  last  puss  dared  to  leave  her  hiding-place,  the  crow,  leaving 
the  tree,  and  hovering  over  her  in  the  air,  let  the  stone  drop  from  on 
high  on  her  back. 


JNECDOTES    OF    ANIMALS 


31 


32  JNECDOTES    OF    ANIMALS 


XV 

HEROISM  OF  AN  IRISH  HEN 

A  CONTEST  of  rather  an  unusual  nature  took  place  in  the 
house  of  an  innkeeper  in  Ireland.  Tlje  parties  engaged  were 
a  hen  of  the  game  species  and  a  rat  of  middle  size.  The  hen,  in  a 
walk  round  a  spacious  room,  accompanied  by  an  only  chicken,  the 
last  one  left  of  a  large  brood,  was  roused  to  madness  by  an  attack 
made  by  a  fierce  rat  on  her  helpless  little  one.  The  frightened  cries 
of  her  beloved  little  chick,  while  it  was  being  dragged  away  by  the 
rat,  awoke  all  the  mother-love  in  the  bosom  of  the  hen.  She  flew  at 
the  corner  whence  he  had  taken  her  child,  seized  him  by  the  neck, 
dragged  him  about  the  room,  put  out  one  of  his  eyes,  and  so  tired 
him  by  repeated  attacks  of  spur  and  bill,  that  in  the  space  of  twelve 
minutes,  during  which  time  the  conflict  lasted,  she  killed  the  rat, 
nimbly  turned  round  in  triumph  to  her  frightened  nestliag,  and  lov- 
ingly sheltered  it  beneath  her  protecting  wings. 


JNECDOTES    OF   ANIMALS  33 


34  JlNECDOTES    OF    ANIMALS 


XVI 
THE  SHEPHERD'S  DOG 

JAMES  HOGG,  the  shepherd  poet,  had  a  dog  named  Sirrah, 
who  was  for  many  years  his  sole  companion.  He  was,  the 
shepherd  says,  the  best  dog  he  ever  saw,  in  spite  of  his  surly  man- 
ners and  unattractive  appearance.  The  first  time  he  saw  the  dog, 
a  drover  was  leading  him  by  a  rope,  and,  although  hungry  and  lean, 
"I  thought,"  Hogg  tells  us,  "I  saw  a  sort  of  sullen  intelligence  in 
his  face,  so  I  gave  the  drover  a  guinea  for  him.  I  believe  there  was 
never  a  guinea  so  well  spent.  He  was  scarcely  a  year  old  then,  and 
knew  nothing  of  herding;  but  as  soon  as  he  found  out  that  it  was 
his  duty  to  do  so,  I  can  never  forget  with  what  eagerness  he  learned. 
He  would  try  every  way  till  he  found  out  what  I  wanted  him  to  do; 
and  when  once  I  made  him  understand  a  direction,  he  never  forgot 
or  mistook  it  again." 

About  seven  hundred  lambs,  which  were  at  once  under  Mr. 
Hogg's  care,  broke  up  at  midnight,  and  scampered  off  in  three 
divisions  across  the  hills,  in  spite  of  all  that  the  shepherd  and  an 
assistant  lad  could  do  to  keep  them  together.  "Sirrah,"  cried  the 
shepherd,  in  great  alarm,  **my  man,  they're  awa."  The  night  was 
so  dark  that  he  did  not  see  Sirrah,  but  the  faithful  dog  had  heard 
his  master's  words,  and  without  more  ado  he  set  off  in  quest  of   the 


JlNECDOTES    OF   ANIMALS 


35 


36  JNECDOTES    OF    ANIMALS 

flock.  The  shepherd  and  his  companion  spent  the  whole  of  the 
night  in  scouring  the  hills,  but  of  neither  lambs  nor  Sirrah  could 
they  obtain  the  slightest  trace.  "We  had  nothing  for  it,"  says  the 
shepherd,  "but  to  return  to  our  master  and  tell  him  that  we  had 
lost  his  whole  flock  of  lambs.  On  our  way  home,  however,  we 
came  suddenly  upon  a  body  of  lambs  at  the  bottom  of  a  deep  ravine, 
and  in  front  of  them  was  sitting  Sirrah,  who  was  looking  around 
for  help.  We  decided  that  here  was  at  least  one  of  the  divisions 
which  Sirrah  had  managed  to  collect;  but  what  was  our  astonish- 
ment when  we  discovered  that  not  one  of  the  whole  flock  was  miss- 
ing. How  he  had  got  all  the  divisions  together  in  the  dark  is  beyond 
my  comprehension.  I  never  felt  so  grateful  to  any  creature  under 
the  sun  as  I  did  to  my  honest  Sirrah  that  morning.'* 


xvn 
TRAVELLERS 


AN  innkeeper  once  sent,  as  a  present  to  a  friend,  a  dog  and  cat 
that  had  been  companions  for  more  than  ten  months.  The 
carrier  took  them,  tied  up  in  a  bag.  A  short  time  after  the  dog 
and  cat  set  out  together,  and  returned  to  their  old  home,  a  distance 
of  thirteen  miles.  They  jogged  along  the  road  side  by  side,  and  on 
one  occasion  the  dog  gallantly  defended  his  fellow-traveller  from 
the  attack  of  another  dog  they  met. 


JNECDOTES    OF    ANIMALS 


37 


^8  JNECDOTES    OF    ANIMALS 


xvm 
FILIAL  DUTY 

A  SURGEON'S  mate  on  board  a  ship  relates  that  while  he 
was  lying  awake  one  evening,  he  saw  a  rat  come  into  his 
berth,  and  after  looking  carefully  about  the  place,  go  away  with  the 
greatest  care  and  silence.  Soon  after  it  returned,  leading  by  the 
ear  another  rat,  which  it  left  at  a  small  distance  from  the  hole  by 
which  they  had  entered.  A  third  rat  joined  this  kind  conductor; 
they  then  foraged  about,  and  picked  up  all  the  small  scraps  of  bis- 
cuit; these  they  carried  to  the  second  rat,  which  seemed  blind,  and 
staid  right  on  the  spot  where  they  had  left  it,  nibbling  such  food  as 
its  faithful  friends,  whom  the  story-teller  thinks  were  its  children, 
brought  to  it  from  the  more  remote  parts  of  the  room. 


■"■^; 


./I  NEC  DOTES    OF    ANIMALS  39 


40  JNECDOTES     OF    ANIMALS 


XIX 
A  DOG  SHEEP-STEALER 

A  SHEPHERD,  who  was  hung  for  sheep-stealing,  used  to 
commit  the  robberies  by  means  of  his  dog.  Whenever  he 
wished  to  steal  any  sheep,  he  sent  the  dog  to  do  the  business.  He 
would  visit  a  flock  of  sheep,  looking  them  over,  as  if  he  intended 
buying  some.  The  dog  was  always  by  his  side,  and  to  him  he  gave 
a  signal  secretly,  whenever  he  saw  any  particular  sheep  he  wanted. 
Sometimes  he  would  pick  out  ten  or  twelve  from  a  flock  of  some 
hundreds.  Dog  and  man  then  went  away,  and  from  a  distance  of 
several  miles,  the  dog  would  be  sent  back  by  himself  in  the  night 
time.  The  wise  creature  picked  out  the  very  sheep  the  man  had 
selected,  separated  them  from  the  rest  of  the  flock,  and  drove  them 
before  him,  often  a  distance  of  ten  or  twelve  miles,  till  he  came  up 
with  his  master,  to  whom  he  delivered  them  up. 


JNECDOTES    OF    ANIMALS  41 


■  m^y-'^ 


c,......- •.'..'.i!r,rV.' ,     '>,■■  \.  vt>.  ^..-;L ..■>■.  ■.u.^o^.    ^wai;^ 


42  ANECDOTES    OF    ANIMALS 


XX 
A  MOTHER'S  AFFECTION 

WHILE  a  ship  on  a  voyage  of  discovery  to  the  North  Pole 
was  locked  in  the  ice,  one  morning  the  man  at  the  mast- 
head reported  that  three  bears  were  making  their  way  toward  the 
vessel.  They  had,  no  doubt,  been  attracted  by  the  scent  of  some 
blubber  of  a  sea-horse  which  the  crew  was  burning  on  the  ice  at 
the  time.  They  proved  to  be  a  mother  bear  and  her  two  cubs; 
but  the  cubs  were  nearly  as  large  as  their  mother.  They  ran  eager- 
ly to  the  fire,  drew  out  the  part  of  the  flesh  that  remained  unburned, 
and  ate  it  greedily.  The  crew  threw  great  lumps  of  the  flesh  upon 
the  ice,  and  the  old  bear  carried  them  away,  one  by  one,  laying  a 
lump  before  each  of  her  cubs,  as  she  brought  it,  and  thus  dividing 
it,  keeping  only  a  small  share  for  herself.  As  she  was  carrying  off 
the  last  piece,  the  sailors  shot  both  the  cubs  dead  and  wounded  the 
mother,  but  not  fatally.  It  would  have  touched  the  heart  of  all  but 
the  most  unfeeling  had  they  seen  the  affectionate  concern  of  this 
poor  animal  in  the  dying  moments  of  her  young.  Though  terribly 
wounded  herself,  she  crawled  to  the  place  where  they  lay,  carry- 
ing a  lump  of  flesh  with  her.  She  tore  the  lump  in  pieces,  and  laid 
it  before  them.  When  she  saw  that  they  refused  to  eat,  she  laid 
her  paws  first  upon  one,  then  upon  the  other,  and  tried   to  raise 


JNECDOTES    OF   ANIMALS 


43 


44  JNECDOTES    OF    ANIMALS 

them  up,  moaning  meanwhile  most  pitifully.  Finding  she  could 
not  stir  them,  she  went  off,  and  when  she  had  gone  some  distance, 
looked  back  and  moaned,  and  called  -them.  As  that  did  not  seem 
to  entice  them  away,  she  crawled  back,  and  smelling  round  them, 
began  to  lick  their  wounds.  She  w^ent  off  a  second  time  a  few 
paces,  looked  behind  her  again,  and  for  some  time  stood  moaning 
and  calling.  As  the  cubs  did  not  rise  to  follow  her,  she  returned 
once  more,  and  with  signs  of  inexpressible  fondness  went  round 
them,  caressing  them  with  her  paws.  Finding  at  last  that  they 
were  cold  and  lifeless,  she  raised  her  head  toward  the  ship,  and 
growled  a  curse  upon  their  murderers,  which  they  returned  with 
a  volley  of  musket  balls.  She  fell  between  her  cubs,  and  died  lick- 
ing their  wounds. 


XXI 

A  STRANGE  MOUSER 

A  GENTLEMAN  once  owned  a  hen  that  was  a  fine  mouser. 
She  was  seen  constantly  watching  close  to  a  corn  rick,  and 
the  moment  a  mouse  appeared,  she  seized  it  in  her  beak,  and  car- 
ried it  to  a  meadow  near  by,  where  she  would  play  with  it  like  a 
young  cat  for  some  time,  and  then  kill  it.  She  has  been  known  to 
catch  four  or  five  mice  a  day  in  this  manner. 


JNECDOTES    OF    ANIMALS 


45 


46  JNECDOTES    OF    ANIMALS 


xxn 
SABINUS  AND  HIS  DOG 

AFTER  the  execution  of  Sabinus,  the  Roman  general,  who 
was  put  to  death  because  of  his  attachment  to  the  family  of 
Germanicus,  his  body  was  left  lying  unburied  upon  the  precipice 
of  the  Gemonise,  as  a  warning  to  all  who  should  dare  to  befriend 
the  house  of  Germanicus.  No  friend  had  the  courage  to  go  near 
the  body;  one  only  remained  true — his  faithful  dog.  For  three 
days  the  animal  continued  to  watch  the  body,  his  mournful  howl- 
ing awakening  the  sympathy  of  every  heart.  Food  was  brought 
to  him,  and  he  was  kindly  coaxed  to  eat  it;  but  on  taking  the  bread, 
instead  of  eating  it  himself,  he  fondly  laid  it  on  his  master's  mouth 
and  renewed  his  howling.  Days  thus  passed,  but  not  for  a  single 
moment  did  he  leave  the  body. 

The  body  was  at  length  thrown  into  the  Tiber,  and  the  loving 
creature,  still  unwilling  that  it  should  perish,  leaped  into  the  water 
after  it,  and  clasping  the  corpse  between  its  paws,  vainly  tried  to 
keep  it  from  sinking. 


JNECDOTES    OF   ANIMALS  47 


48  JNECDOTES    OF   ANIMALS 


xxm 
A  JUST  RETALIATION 

A  TAME  elephant  kept  by  a  merchant  was  allowed  to  go  at 
large.  The  animal  used  to  walk  about  the  streets  in  as 
quiet  and  familiar  a  manner  as  any  of  the  people,  and  took  great 
pleasure  in  visiting  the  shops,  especially  those  which  sold  herbs 
and  fruit,  where  he  was  well  received,  except  by  a  couple  of  brutal 
cobblers,  who,  without  any  cause,  took  offense  at  the  generous 
creature,  and  once  or  twice  tried  to  wound  his  trunk  with  their 
awls.  The  noble  animal,  who  knew  it  was  beneath  him  to  crush 
them,  did  not  hesitate  to  punish  them  by  other  means.  He  filled 
his  large  trunk  with  water,  not  of  the  cleanest  quality,  and  advan- 
ing  to  them,  as  usual,  covered  them  all  at  once  with  the  very  dirty 
flood.    The  fools  were  laughed  at,  and  the  punishment  applauded. 


A  Just  Retaliation. —  Page  48 


JNECDOTES    OF   ANIMALS 


49 


XXIV 

AN  ODD  FAMILY 

A  GENTLEMAN  travelling  through  Mecklenburg  relates 
the  following  curious  incident  which  happened  at  an  inn  at 
which  he  was  staying.  After  dinner,  the  landlord  placed  on  the 
floor  a  large  dish  of  soup,  and  then  gave  a  loud  whistle.  At  once 
there  came  into  the  room  a  mastiff,  a  fine  Angora  cat,  an  old  raven, 
and  a  remarkably  large  rat,  with  a  bell  about  its  neck.  These  four 
animals  went  to  the  dish,  and  without  disturbing  one  another,  fed 
together.  After  they  had  eaten,  the  dog,  cat,  and  rat  lay  before 
the  fire,  and  the  raven  hopped  about  the  room. 


50  JNECDOTES    OF   ANIMALS 

XXV 

THE  DOLPHIN 

IN  the  reign  of  Augustus  Caesar  there  was,  in  the  Lucrine  lake, 
a  dolphin  which  formed  a  most  romantic  attachment  to  the 
son  of  a  poor  man.  The  boy  had  to  go  every  day  from  Baise  to 
Puteoli  to  school,  and  such  were  the  friendly  terms  on  which  he 
had  got  with  the  dolphin,  that  he  had  only  to  wait  by  the  banks  of 
the  lake  and  cry,  "Simo,  Simo" — the  name  he  had  given  to  the 
animal,  when,  lo!  Simo  came  scudding  to  the  shore,  let  fall  the 
sharp  prickles  of  his  skin,  and  gently  offered  his  back  for  the  boy 
to  mount  upon.  The  boy,  nothing  afraid,  used  to  mount  at  once, 
and  the  dolphin,  without  either  rein  or  spur,  would  speed  across 
the  sea  to  Puteoli,  and  after  landing  the  young  scholar,  wait  about 
the  shore  till  it  was  time  for  the  boy  to  go  home,  when  it  would 
again  perform  the  same  sort  of  friendly  service.  The  boy  was  not 
ungrateful  for  such  great  kindness,  and  used  every  day  to  bring  a 
good  store  of  food  for  Simo,  which  the  animal  would  take  from  his 
hand  in  the  most  tame  and  kindly  manner  imaginable.  For  several 
years  this  friendly  intercourse  was  kept  up.  It  was,  in  fact,  only 
ended  by  the  death  of  the  boy.  As  the  story  goes,  the  dolphin 
felt  so  badly  when  the  lad  failed  to  come  as  usual,  that  it  threw 
itself  on  the  shore,  and  died,  as  was  thought,  of  very  grief  and 
sorrow  at  the  loss  of  its  friend. 


JNECDOTES     OF    ANIMALS 


51 


'BVT'PAST-BELIEr.A-DOLPHIN'S-ARCHED-BACK 
FRESERVED-ARIONfROM-HIS-DESTINED-WRACK; 
SECVRE-HE*SITS,AND'WITn-HARMONIOVS-STRAINS 
REQVITES-TtlE-BEARER-FOR-HISTRIENDLY-PAINS; 


52  JNECDOTES    OF    ANIMALS 

XXVI 
A  GOOD  FINDER 

ONE  day  a  tradesman,  walking  with  a  friend,  offered  to  wager 
that  if  he  were  to  hide  a  five-shilling  piece  in  the  dust,  his 
dog  would  find  it  and  bring  it  to  him.  The  wager  was  accepted, 
and  the  piece  of  money  marked  and  hidden.  When  the  two  had 
gone  on  some  distance,  the  tradesman  called  to  his  dog  that  he 
had  lost  something,  and  told  him  to  seek  it.  The  dog  turned  back 
at  once,  and  his  master  and  his  friend  went  on  their  way.  Mean- 
while a  traveller,  driving  a  small  chaise,  saw  the  piece  of  money 
which  his  horse  had  kicked  from  its  hiding-place,  alighted,  took  it 
up  and  drove  to  his  inn.  The  dog  had  just  reached  the  spot  in 
search  of  the  lost  piece,  when  the  stranger  picked  it  up.  He  fol- 
lowed the  chaise,  went  into  the  inn,  and,  having  scented  the  coin 
in  the  pocket  of  the  traveller,  he  kept  leaping  up  at  him.  Suppos- 
ing him  to  be  some  dog  that  had  lost  his  master,  the  traveller  took 
these  actions  as  marks  of  affection,  and  as  the  animal  was  hand- 
some, decided  to  keep  him.  He  gave  him  a  good  supper,  and  on 
retiring,  took  him  with  him  to  his  room.  But  no  sooner  had  he 
pulled  off  his  trousers  than  they  were  seized  by  the  dog.  The  own- 
er, thinking  that  the  dog  only  wanted  to  play  with  them,  took  them 
away.  The  animal  began  to  bark  at  the  door,  which  the  traveller 
opened,  thinking  the  animal  wanted  to  go  out.     The  dog  snatched 


JNECDOTES     OF    ANIMALS 


53 


54  JNECDOTES    OF    ANIMALS 

up  the  trousers,  and  away  he  went,  the  traveller,  with  his  nightcap 
on,  posting  after  him.  The  dog  ran  full  speed  to  his  master's  house, 
followed  by  the  stranger,  who  accused  the  dog  of  robbing  him. 
"Sir,"  said  the  master,  *'my  dog  is  a  very  faithful  creature;  and 
if  he  ran  away  with  your  trousers,  it  is  because  you  have  in  them 
money  which  does  not  belong  to  you."  The  traveller  became  still 
more  angry.  "Keep  calm,  sir,"  answered  the  other,  smiling;  "no 
doubt  there  is  in  your  purse  a  five-shilling  piece  which  you  picked 
up  in  the  road,  and  which  I  hid,  knowing  my  dog  would  bring  it 
back.  This  was  the  reason  for  the  robbery  which  he  committed 
upon  you."  The  stranger  said  he  had  found  such  a  coin,  gave  it 
up  to  the  man,  and  went  on  his  way.  But  the  clever  dog  had  thus 
proven  himself  to  be  a  good  finder. 


XXVIII 

REVENGE 


A  WILD  stork  was  brought  by  a  farmer  into  his  poultry  yard, 
to  be  the  companion  of  a  tame  one,  which  he  had  long  kept 
there;  but  the  tame  stork,  disliking  a  rival,  fell  upon  the  poor,  wild 
stranger,  and  beat  him  so  terribly  that  he  took  wing  and  flew  off. 
About  four  months  afterwards,  however,  his  injuries  having  all 
healed,  he  returned  to  the  poultry  yard,  with  three  other  storks, 
who  no  sooner  alighted  than  they  all  together  fell  upon  the  tame 
stork,  and  killed  it. 


4NECD0TES    OF    ANIMALS 


55 


56  JNECDOTES    OF    ANIMALS 


XXVIII 
MICE  AS  SAILORS 

ALTHOUGH  there  are  few  who  would  dispute  the  cleverness 
and  sagacity  of  the  larger  animals,  it  is  doubtful  if  there 
are  many  who  credit  the  mouse  with  even  average  intelligence. 
The  following  instance  may  go  far  to  raise  our  humble  friend  in 
the  popular  estimation;  more  especially  as  the  story  is  told  by  one 
who  really  saw  the  whole  performance.  In  a  country  where  ber- 
ries are  scarce,  these  little  animals  were  obliged  to  cross  a  river  to 
make  their  forages.  In  returning  with  their  booty  to  their  homes, 
they  had  to  recross  the  stream;  in  doing  which  they  showed  an  inge- 
nuity little  short  of  marvelous.  The  party,  which  consisted  of  five, 
selected  a  water-lily  leaf,  on  which  they  placed  their  berries  in  a 
heap  in  the  middle;  then,  by  their  united  force,  they  brought  it  to 
the  water's  edge,  and  after  launching  it,  jumped  on  it,  and  placed 
themselves  round  the  heap,  with  their  heads  joined  over  it,  and 
their  backs  to  the  water.  In  this  manner  they  drifted  down  the 
stream  until  they  reached  the  opposite  shore,  when  they  unloaded 
their  cargo,  and  stored  it  away  for  the  coming  rainy  day. 


JNECDOTES    OF    ANIMALS  57 


58  JNECDOTES    OF    ANIMALS 


xxrx 
DRAWING  WATER 

SOME  years  ago,  a  donkey  was  employed  at  Carisbrook  Cas- 
tle, in  the  Isle,  of  Wight,  in  drawing  water  by  means  of  a 
large  wheel  from  a  very  deep  well,  thought  to  have  been  sunk  by 
the  Romans.  When  the  keeper  wanted  water,  he  would  say  to  the 
donkey,  *'Tom,  my  boy,  I  want  water;  get  into  the  wheel,  my  lad/* 
Thomas,  thereupon,  got  in,  with  a  speed  and  wisdom  that  would 
have  done  credit  to  a  nobler  animal.  No  doubt  he  knew  the  exact 
number  of  times  the  wheel  had  to  turn  upon  its  axis  to  bring  up 
the  bucket,  because  every  time  he  brought  it  to  the  surface  of  the 
well,  he  stopped  and  turned  round  his  honest  head  to  note  the 
moment  when  his  master  laid  hold  of  the  bucket  to  draw  it  toward 
him,  because  he  had  then  a  nice  turn  to  make  either  to  draw  back, 
or  to  go  ahead  a  little.  It  was  pleasing  to  see  with  what  steadiness 
and  regularity  the  poor  animal  did  his  work. 


JNECDOTES    OF    ANIMALS 


59 


60  JNECDOTES    OF    ANIMALS 

XXX 
THE  BROKEN  HEART 

DURING  the  French  Revolution  M.  des  R — ,  an  ancient 
magistrate  and  most  estimable  man,  was  condemned  to  die 
on  the  charge  of  conspiracy,  and  was  thrown  into  prison.  M.  des 
R —  had  a  water  spaniel,  which  had  been  brought  up  by  him,  and 
was  always  with  him.  Shut  out  of  the  prison,  he  returned  to  his 
master's  house,  and  found  it  closed.  He  then  took  refuge  with  a 
neighbor.  Every  day  at  the  same  hour,  the  dog  left  the  house,  and 
went  straight  to  the  door  of  the  prison,  where  he  whined  mourn- 
fully. He  was  refused  admittance,  but  each  day  he  spent  an  hour 
before  the  door,  and  then  went  away.  His  fidelity  at  last  won  over 
the  porter,  and  one  day  he  was  allowed  to  enter.  The  dog  saw  his 
master  and  clung  to  him.  The  jailer  could  hardly  drive  him  away. 
He  came  back  the  next  morning,  and  every  day;  once  each  day  he 
was  admitted.  He  licked  the  hand  of  his  friend,  looked  him  in  the 
face,  again  licked  his  hand,  and  went  away  of  his  own  accord. 

After  the  execution,  at  which  the  dog  was  present,  he  walked  by 
the  side  of  the  corpse  to  its  burial  place,  and  after  the  ceremony  laid 
himself  upon  the  grave.  There  he  passed  the  first  night,  the  next 
day,  and  the  next  night.  The  neighbor,  in  the  meantime,  unhappy 
at  not  seeing  him,  went  in  search  of  his  friend,  and  found  him  by 
his  master's  grave.    He  caressed  him  and  made  him  eat  a  little  food. 


JNECDOTES    OF   ANIMALS  61 


62  JNECDOTES    OF   ANIMALS 

He  even  coaxed  the  faithful  creature  away  for  a  few  moments,  but 
he  soon  returned  to  his  master's  grave.  Three  months  passed.  The 
dog  came  each  morning  to  get  his  food,  and  then  returned  to  the 
grave.  Each  day  he  was  more  sad,  more  lean,  more  feeble.  He 
was  chained  up,  but  broke  his  fetters;  escaped;  returned  to  the 
grave,  and  never  left  it  more.  It  was  in  vain  that  they  tried  to  get 
him  back.  They  carried  him  food,  but  he  ate  no  longer.  For  hours  he 
was  seen  digging  up  with  his  weakened  limbs  the  earth  that  separa- 
ted him  from  his  beloved  master.  Passion  gave  him  strength,  and 
at  last  he  was  near  to  the  body.  Then  his  faithful  heart  gave  way, 
and  he  breathed  out  a  last  gasp,  as  if  he  knew  he  had  found  his 
master. 


XXXI 

REMORSE 


AN  elephant,  from  some  motive  of  revenge,  killed  his  mahout, 
or  driver.  The  man's  wife,  who  beheld  the  dreadful  scene, 
took  her  two  children,  and  threw  them  at  the  feet  of  the  angry  ani- 
mal, saying,  "Since  you  have  slain  my  husband,  take  my  life  also, 
and  that  of  my  children."  The  elephant  instantly  became  calm 
looked  at  them  a  moment,  and  then,  as  if  stung  with  remorse,  took 
up  the  eldest  boy  with  his  trunk,  placed  him  on  his  neck,  adopted 
him  for  his  driver,  and  would  never  afterwards  allow  any  other 
person  to  mount  him. 


JNECDOTES    OF    ANIMALS 


63 


64  JNECDOTES    OF    ANIMALS 


XXXII 
A  COMEDY  OF  ELEPHANTS 

IN  a  play  exhibited  at  Rome,  in  the  reign  of  Tiberius,  there  were 
twelve  elephant  performers,  six  male  and  six  female,  all  fixed 
up  in  fancy  costumes.  After  they  had,  at  the  command  of  their 
keeper,  danced  and  performed  a  thousand  curious  antics,  a  most 
sumptuous  feast  was  served  up  for  their  refreshment.  The  table 
was  covered  with  all  sorts  of  dainties  and  golden  goblets  filled  with 
the  most  precious  wines.  Couches  covered  with  purple  carpets 
were  placed  around  for  the  animals  to  lie  upon,  after  the  manner 
of  the  Romans  when  feasting,  and  on  these  couches  the  elephants 
laid  themselves  down.  At  a  given  signal  they  reached  out  their 
trunks  to  the  table,  and  fell  to  eating  and  drinking  with  as  much 
propriety  as  if  they  had  been  so  many  men  and  woma 


JlNECDOTES    OF    ANIMALS 


65 


66  ANECDOTES    OF    ANIMALS 


xxxm 
CUNNING  AS  A  FOX 

AN  American  gentleman  was  hunting  foxes,  accompanied  by 
two  bloodhounds.  The  dogs  were  soon  in  scent,  and  fol- 
lowed a  fox  nearly  two  hours,  when  suddenly  they  appeared  at 
fault.  The  gentleman  came  up  with  them  near  a  large  log  lying 
upon  the  ground,  and  was  much  surprised  to  find  them  taking  a 
circuit  of  a  few  rods  without  an  object,  every  trace  of  the  game 
seeming  to  have  been  lost,  while  they  still  kept  yelping.  On  look- 
ing round  about  himself,  he  saw  sly  Reynard  stretched  upon  the 
log,  as  still  as  if  he  were  dead.  The  master  made  several  efforts  to 
direct  the  attention  of  his  dogs  toward  the  fox,  but  failed.  At  last 
he  went  so  near  the  artful  creature  that  he  could  see  it  breathe. 
Even  then  no  alarm  was  shown;  and  the  gentleman,  seizing  a  club, 
aimed  a  blow  at  him,  which  Reynard  evaded  by  a  leap  from  his 
strange  hiding-place,  having  thus  for  a  time  effectually  eluded  his 
greedy  pursuers. 


.ANECDOTES    OF    ANIMALS  67 


68  ANECDOTES    OF    ANIMALS 


XXXIV 

FAITHFUL  THOUGH  UNLOVED 

A  GENTLEMAN  once  owned  a  mastiff  which  guarded  the 
house  and  yard,  but  had  never  any  particular  attention 
from  his  master.  One  night,  as  his  master  was  retiring  to  his  room, 
attended  by  his  valet,  an  Italian,  the  mastiff  silently  followed  him 
upstairs,  something  which  he  had  never  been  before  known  to  do, 
and  to  his  master's  astonishment,  came  into  his  bedroom.  He  was 
at  once  turned  out;  but  the  poor  animal  began  scratching  violently 
at  the  door,  and  howled  loudly  for  admission.  The  servant  was 
sent  to  drive  him  away;  but  again  he  returned,  and  seemed  more 
anxious  than  before  to  be  let  in.  Getting  tired  of  his  barking,  the 
gentleman  bade  the  servant  open  the  door,  that  they  might  see 
what  it  was  the  animal  wanted  to  do.  As  soon  as  he  was  let  in  the 
dog  walked  to  the  bed,  and  crawling  under  it,  laid  himself  down 
as  if  intending  to  spend  the  night  there.  To  save  farther  trouble, 
this  was  allowed.  About  midnight  the  chamber  door  opened,  and 
some  one  was  heard  stepping  carefully  across  the  floor.  The  gen- 
tleman started  from  his  sleep;  the  dog  sprang  from  his  covert,  and 
seizing  the  unwelcome  intruder,  fixed  him  to  the  spot.  All  was 
dark,  and  the  gentleman  rang  his  bell  in  great  fear  in  order  to  pro- 
cure a  light.    The  person  who  was  pinned  to  the  floor  by  the  cou- 


JNECDOTES    OF    ANIMALS 


69 


70  JNECDOTES    OF    ANIMALS 

rageous  mastiff  was  roaring  for  assistance.  It  was  found  to  be  the 
valet,  who  little  expected  such  a  reception.  He  tried  to  apologize 
for  his  intrusion,  and  to  make  the  reasons  which  led  him  to  take 
this  step  appear  plausible;  but  the  importunity  of  the  dog,  the  time, 
the  place,  the  manner  of  the  valet,  all  raised  the  suspicions  of  his 
master,  and  he  determined  to  refer  the  investigation  of  the  busi- 
ness to  a  magistrate.  The  Italian  at  length  confessed  that  it  was 
his  intention  to  murder  his  master  and  then  rob  the  house.  This 
he  would  surely  have  done,  had  it  not  been  for  the  great  wisdom  of 
the  dog  and  his  wonderful  friendship  for  a  master  who  had  never 
treated  him  with  the  kindness  that  he  should  have  done. 


XXXV 

A  FAITHFUL  COMPANION 

A  GARDENER,  in  removing  some  rubbish  one  day,  found 
two  ground  toads  of  uncommon  size,  weighing  no  less  than 
seven  pounds.  While  he  was  watching  them,  he  was  surprised  to 
see  that  one  of  them  got  upon  the  back  of  the  other,  and  then  both 
moved  slowly  over  the  ground  toward  a  place  of  retreat.  Upon 
further  examination  he  found  that  the  one  on  the  back  of  the  other 
had  been  badly  wounded  by  a  blow  from  his  spade,  and  was  thus 
unable  to  get  back  to  its  home  without  the  help  of  its  friend. 


JNECDOTES    OF    ANIMALS 


71 


72  ANECDOTES    OF   ANIMALS 


XXXVI 
ELEPHANT  ROPE  DANCING 

THE   ease    with  which  the    elephant  is    taught  to  perform  the 
most  difficult  feats  forms  a  remarkable  contrast  to  its  huge 
size  and  clumsiness.      Aristotle  tells  us  that  in  ancient  times  ele- 
phants were  taught  by  their  keepers  to  throw  stones  at  a  mark,  to 
cast  up  arms  in  the  air,  and  catch  them  again  on  their  fall;  and  to 
dance,  not  merely  on  the  earth,  but  on  the  rope.     The  first,  accord- 
ing to  the  historian  Suetonius,  who  exhibited  elephant  rope  dancers, 
was  Galba  at  Rome.     The  manner  of  teaching  them  to  dance  on 
the  ground  was  simple  enough  (simply  music  and  a  very  hot  floor) ; 
but  we  are  not  told  how  they  were  taught  to  skip  the  rope,  or  wheth- 
er it  was  the  tight  or  the  slack  rope,  or  how  high  the  rope  was.    The 
silence  of  history  on  these  points  is  fortunate  for  the  dancers  of  the 
present  day;  since,  but  for  this,  their  fame  might  have  been  utterly 
eclipsed.     Elephants  may,   in  the  days  of  old  Rome,   have  been 
taught  to  dance  on  a  rope,  but  when  was  an  elephant  ever  known 
to  skip  on  a  rope  over  the  heads  of  an  audience,  or  to  caper  amidst 
a  blaze  of  fire  fifty  feet  aloft  in  the  air  ?    What  would  Aristotle  have 
thought  of  his  dancing  elephants  if  he  had  seen  some  of  the  ele- 
phants who  perform  to-day? 


JNECDOTES    OF    ANIMALS 


73 


74  ANECDOTES    OF    ANIMALS 


xxxvn 
A  PROVIDENTIAL  SAFE  CONDUCT 

A  TRAVELLER  tells  a  singular  anecdote  of  a  lion,  which 
he  says  was  told  to  him  by  a  very  credible  person.  About 
the  year  1614  or  1615,  two  Christian  slaves  at  Morocco  made  their 
escape,  travelling  by  night,  and  hiding  themselves  in  the  tops  of 
trees  during  the  day,  their  Arab  pursuers  often  passing  them  by. 
One  night,  while  travelling  along,  they  were  much  astonished  and 
alarmed  to  see  a  great  lion  close  by  them,  walking  when  they  walked 
and  standing  still  when  they  did.  Thinking  this  a  safe  conduct 
sent  to  them  by  Providence,  they  took  courage  and  travelled  in  the 
daytime  in  company  with  the  lion.  The  horsemen  who  had  been 
sent  in  pursuit  came  up,  and  would  have  seized  upon  them,  but 
the  lion  interposed,  and  they  were  allowed  to  pass  on.  Every  day 
these  poor  slaves  met  with  some  one  or  other  person  who  wanted 
to  seize  them,  but  the  lion  was  their  protector  until  they  reached 
the  sea  coast  in  safety,  when  he  left  them. 


JNECDOTES     OF    ANIMALS 


75 


76  JNECDOTES     OF    ANIMALS 


xxxvm 
THE  DOG  AND  THE  GOOSE 

A  GOOSE  was  once  observed  to  attach  itself  in  the  strongest 
and  most  affectionate  manner  to  the  house  dog,  but  never 
offered  to  go  into  the  kennel  except  in  rainy  weather.  Whenever 
the  dog  barked,  the  goose  would  cackle,  and  run  at  the  person  she 
supposed  the  dog  barked  at,  and  try  to  bite  him  by  the  heels.  She 
would  sometimes  try  to  feed  with  the  dog,  but  this  the  dog,  who 
treated  his  faithful  companion  with  indifference,  would  not  allow. 
This  bird  would  not  go  to  roost  with  the  others  at  night,  unless  she 
was  driven  by  main  force;  and  when  in  the  morning  they  were  all 
turned  into  the  field,  she  would  never  stir  from  the  yard  gate,  but 
sit  there  the  whole  day  in  sight  of  the  dog.  At  length  orders  were 
given  that  she  should  not  longer  be  molested.  Being  thus  left  to 
herself,  she  ran  about  the  yard  with  him  all  night  and  what  is  most 
strange,  whenever  the  dog  went  out  of  the  yard  and  ran  into  the 
village,  the  goose  always  went  with  him,  managing  to  keep  up  with 
him  by  the  help  of  her  wings,  and  thus  running  and  flying,  followed 
him  all  over  the  town.  This  strange  affection  of  the  goose  for  the 
dog,  which  continued  till  his  death,  two  years  after  it  was  first 
noticed,  is  supposed  to  have  been  due  to  the  fact,  that  once,  in  her 
very  young  days,  he  had  saved  her  from  a  fox. 


JNECDOTES    OF    ANIMALS 


77 


78  ANECDOTES    OF    ANIMALS 

While  the  dog  was  ill,  the  goose  never  left  him,  day  or  night,  not 
even  to  feed,  and  she  would  surely  have  starved  to  death  had  not 
a  pan  of  corn  been  set  every  day  close  to  the  kennel.  At  this  time 
the  goose  generally  sat  in  the  kennel,  and  would  not  allow  any  one 
to  come  near  it,  except  the  person  who  brought  the  dog's  or  her 
own  food.  The  end  of  this  faithful  bird  was  very  sad;  for  when 
the  dog  died,  she  would  still  keep  possession  of  the  kennel.  A  new 
house  dog  was  bought,  which  in  size  and  color  so  resembled  the 
one  lately  lost  that  the  poor  goose  was  unhappily  deceived,  and 
going  into  the  kennel  as  usual,  the  new  dog  seized  her  by  the  throat 
and  killed  her. 


XXXIX 

THE  DEATH  OF  ANTIOCHUS  REVENGED 

WHEN  Antiochus  was  killed  in  battle  by  Centaretrius  the 
Galatian,  the  victor  exultingly  leaped  on  the  back  of  the 
fallen  king's  horse;  but  he  had  no  sooner  done  so,  than  the  animal, 
as  if  sensible  that  it  was  bestridden  by  the  slayer  of  its  master,  at 
once  showed  signs  of  the  greatest  fury,  and  bounding  forward  to 
the  top  of  a  lofty  rock,  with  a  speed  which  defied  every  attempt 
of  Centaretrius  to  disengage  himself,  leaped  with  him  over  the 
precipice,  at  the  foot  of  which  both  were  found  dashed  to  pieces. 
Thus  did  the  noble  horse  revenge  his  master's  death. 


JNECDOTES    OF    ANIMALS 


79 


80  JNECDOTES    OF   ANIMALS 


XL 
A  NOBLE  REVENGE 

A  YOUNG  man,  anxious  to  get  rid  of  his  dog,  took  it  along 
with  him  to  the  river.  He  hired  a  boat,  and  rowing  out 
into  the  stream,  threw  the  animal  in.  The  poor  creature  tried  to 
climb  up  the  sides  of  the  boat,  but  his  master,  whose  wish  was  to 
drown  him,  kept  on  pushing  him  back  into  the  water  with  the  oar. 
In  doing  this,  he  fell  into  the  water  himself,  and  would  certainly 
have  been  drowned,  had  not  the  dog,  as  soon  as  he  saw  his  master 
struggling  helplessly  in  the  stream,  allowed  the  boat  to  float  away, 
seized  his  master's  coat,  and  held  him  above  water  till  help  came, 
and  his  life  was  saved. 


JNECDOTES    OF    ANIMALS 


81 


82  JNECDOTES    OF    ANIMALS 


XLI 

LONG  LOST  FOUND  AGAIN 

A  FEMALE  elephant  belonging  to  a  gentleman  in  Calcutta 
broke  loose  from  her  keeper,  and  was  lost  in  the  woods. 
The  excuses  which  the  keeper  made  were  not  admitted.  It  was 
supposed  that  he  had  sold  the  elephant;  his  wife  and  family  there- 
fore were  sold  for  slaves,  and  he  himself  was  condemned  to  work 
upon  the  roads. 

About  twelve  years  after,  this  man  was  ordered  into  the  country 
to  assist  in  catching  wild  elephants.  The  keeper  fancied  he  saw 
his  long-lost  elephant  in  a  group  that  was  before  them.  He  was 
determined  to  go  up  to  it;  nor  could  the  strongest  arguments  as  to 
the  danger  of  such  a  risk  keep  him  from  his  purpose.  When  he 
came  near  the  creature,  she  knew  him,  and  giving  him  three  salutes 
by  waving  her  trunk  in  the  air,  knelt  down  and  received  him  on 
her  back.  She  afterwards  helped  in  securing  the  other  elephants, 
and  likewise  brought  her  three  young  ones.  The  keeper  recovered 
his  reputation;  and,  as  a  recompense  for  his  sufferings  and  bravery, 
had  a  certain  sum  of  money  settled  on  him  for  life. 


JNECDOTES    OF    ANIMALS 


83 


S4  JNECDOTES    OF   ANIMALS 


XLII 

THE  DOG  OF  MONTARGIS 

A  FRENCHMAN  of  family  and  fortune,  travelling  alone 
through  a  forest,  was  murdered  and  buried  under  a  tree. 
His  dog,  an  English  bloodhound,  would  not  leave  his  master's  grave 
till  at  length,  compelled  by  hunger,  he  went  to  the  house  of  a  friend 
of  his  master's,  and  by  his  mournful  howling  seemed  trying  to  make 
him  know  that  something  had  happened.  He  repeated  his  cries, 
ran  to  the  door,  looked  back  to  see  if  any  one  followed  him,  went 
back  to  his  master's  friend,  pulled  him  by  the  sleeve,  and  with  a 
great  deal  of  earnestness  seemed  begging  him  to  follow. 

Struck  by  these  actions,  the  company  decided  to  follow  the  dog, 
who  led  them  to  a  tree  where  he  began  scratching  the  earth  and 
howling.    On  digging,  the  body  of  the  unhappy  man  was  found. 

Some  time  after,  the  dog  accidently  met  the  murderer, 
instantly  seized  him  by  the  throat,  and  was  with  the  greatest  diflS- 
culty  compelled  to  loose  his  hold.  As  the  dog  continued  to  fol- 
low and  attack  the  man,  though  kind  and  gentle  to  all  others,  his 
actions  began  to  attract  notice  and  comment. 

At  last  the  affair  reached  the  king's  ear.  He  sent  for  the  dog, 
who  seemed  very  gentle  till  he  saw  the  murderer,  when  he  ran  at 
him  fiercely,  growling  and  snapping  at  him  as  usual. 


ANECDOTES    OF   ANIMALS 


85 


86  JNECDOTES    OF    ANIMALS 

The  king,  struck  with  the  strange  behavior  of  the  noble  animal, 
decided  to  refer  the  decision  to  the  chance  of  battle.  In  other  words, 
he  gave  orders  for  a  combat  between  the  assassin  and  the  dog.  The 
lists  were  appointed,  and  the  man  was  allowed  for  his  weapon  a 
great  cudgel. 

An  empty  cask  was  given  to  the  dog  as  a  place  of  retreat,  to  give 
him  a  chance  to  recover  his  breath.  The  dog,  finding  himself  at 
liberty  ran  round  his  adversary,  avoiding  his  blows,  and  threaten- 
ing him  on  every  side,  till  his  strength  was  exhausted;  then  spring- 
ing forward,  he  gripped  him  by  the  throat,  threw  him  on  the  ground, 
and  made  him  confess  before  the  king  and  the  whole  court.  The 
assassin  was  afterward  convicted  and  beheaded. 


XLIII 

CRAB  FISHING 


THE  following  is  an  instance  of  the  wonderful  cunning  shown 
by  the  Raccoon.  It  is  very  fond  of  crabs,  and  when  in  quest 
of  them,  will  stand  by  the  side  of  a  swamp,  and  hang  its  tail  over 
into  the  water.  The  crabs,  mistaking  the  tail  for  food,  are  sure  to 
lay  hold  of  it;  and  as  soon  as  the  sly  beast  feels  them  pinch,  he  pulls 
them  out  with  a  sudden  jerk.  He  then  takes  them  to  a  little  distance 
from  the  water's  edge,  and  in  eating  them,  is  careful  to  get  them 
crossways  in  his  mouth,  lest  he  should  suffer  from  their  nippers. 


JNECDOTES    OF    ANIMALS 


87 


88  JNECDOTES    OF    ANIMALS 


XLIV 

f 

THE  HORSE  AND  GREYHOUND 

VARIOUS  have  been  the  opinions  upon  the  difference  of  speed 
between  a  well-bred  greyhound  and  a  racehorse,  if  opposed 
to  each  other.  Wishes  had  been  often  expressed  by  the  sporting 
world  that  some  standard  could  be  adopted  by  which  the  superior- 
ity of  speed  could  be  fairly  ascertained,  when  the  following  inci- 
dent happened,  and  afforded  some  information  upon  what  had 
before  been  considered  a  matter  of  great  uncertainty.  In  the  month 
of  December,  1800  a  match  was  to  have  been  run  over  Doncaster 
racecourse  for  one  hundred  guineas,  but  one  of  the  horses  being 
withdrawn,  a  mare  started  alone,  that  by  running  the  ground  she 
might  ensure  the  wager.  After  having  run  about  a  mile  in  the  four, 
she  was  joined  by  a  greyhound,  which  leaped  into  the  course  from 
one  side,  and  entering  into  the  competition,  continued  to  race  with 
the  mare  for  the  other  three  miles,  keeping  nearly  head  and  head, 
and  affording  an  excellent  treat  to  the  field  by  the  energetic  exer- 
tions of  each.  At  passing  the  distance  post  five  to  four  was  bet  in 
favor  of  the  greyhound;  when  parallel  with  the  stand  it  was  even 
betting,  and  any  person  might  have  taken  his  choice  from  five  to 
ten.  The  mare,  however,  had  the  advantage  by  a  head  at  the  end 
of  the  race. 


JNECDOTES    OF    ANIMALS 


89 


90  JNECDOTES    OF    ANIMALS 


XLV 
THE  WATCH  DOG 

A  THIEF  who  had  broken  into  the  shop  of  Cellini,  the  artist, 
and  was  breaking  open  the  caskets  in  order  to  get  at  some 
jewels,  was  arrested  in  his  progress  by  a  dog,  against  whom  he 
found  it  a  difficult  matter  to  defend  himself  with  a  sword.  The 
faithful  animal  ran  to  the  room  where  the  journeymen  slept,  but 
as  they  did  not  seem  to  hear  him  barking,  he  drew  away  the  bed- 
clothes, and  pulling  them  alternately  by  the  arms,  forcibly  woke 
them;  then  barking  very  loud,  he  showed  the  way  to  the  thief,  and 
went  on  before;  but  the  men  would  not  follow  him,  and  at  last  they 
locked  their  door.  The  dog,  having  lost  all  hopes  of  the  assistance 
of  these  men,  undertook  the  task  alone,  and  ran  downstairs.  He 
could  not  find  the  villain  in  the  shop,  but  instantly  rushing  into 
the  street  came  up  with  him,  and  tearing  off  his  cloak,  would  have 
treated  him  according  to  his  deserts  if  the  fellow  had  not  called 
to  some  tailors  in  the  neighborhood,  and  begged  them  to  help  him. 
They  came  to  his  aid,  and  drove  the  poor  animal  away. 


JNECDOTES    OF    ANIMALS 


91 


92  JNECDOTES    OF    ANIMALS 


XLVI 
THE  GOAT 

A  GENTLEMAN  who  had  taken  an  active  part  in  the  rebel- 
lion of  1715,  after  the  battle  of  Preston  escaped  into  the 
West  Highlands,  where  a  lady,  a  near  relative,  gave  him  a  hiding- 
place.  A  faithful  servant  conducted  him  to  the  mouth  of  a  cave 
and  gave  him  an  abundant  store  of  food.  The  fugitive  crept  in 
at  a  low  opening,  dragging  his  stores  along.  When  he  reached  a 
wider  and  higher  place,  he  found  some  obstacle  before  him.  He 
drew  his  dirk,  but  unwilling  to  strike,  lest  he  might  take  the  life 
of  a  companion  in  hiding,  he  stooped  down,  and  found  a  goat  with 
her  kid  stretched  on  the  ground.  He  soon  saw  that  the  animal  was 
in  great  pain,  and  feeling  her  body  and  limbs,  found  that  her  leg 
was  broken.  He  bound  it  up  with  his  garter,  and  offered  her  a  share 
of  the  bread  beside  him;  but  she  put  out  her  tongue,  as  if  to  tell 
him  that  her  mouth  was  parched  with  thirst.  He  gave  her  water, 
which  she  drank  readily,  and  then  ate  some  bread.  After  mid- 
night he  ventured  out  of  the  cave.  All  was  still.  He  plucked  an 
armful  of  grass  and  cut  some  tender  twigs,  which  the  goat  accepted 
with  signs  of  great  joy  and  thankfulness.  The  prisoner  took  a 
great  deal  of  comfort  in  having  a  living  creature  in  his  dungeon, 
and  he  caressed  and  fed  her  tenderly.     The  man  who  was  trusted 


JNECDOTES    OF    ANIMALS 


93 


94  JNXDOTES    OF   ANIMALS 


to  bring  him  supplies  fell  sick;  and  when  another  tried  to  enter 
the  cavern,  the  goat  furiously  opposed  him,  presenting  her  horns 
in  all  directions,  till  the  fugitive,  hearing  a  disturbance,  came  for- 
ward. The  new  attendant  gave  the  watchword,  and  so  the  prisoner 
knew  he  was  all  right.  He  spoke  to  the  goat,  and  she  obeyed  him, 
and  allowed  the  servant  to  enter.  The  gentleman  was  sure  that  had 
a  band  of  soldiers  attacked  the  cavern,  his  ^.ateful  patient  would 
have  died  in  his  defense. 


XLVII 

FOX  CHASING 


DURING  a  fox  hunt,  Reynard,  being  hard  pressed,  had  to 
take  refuge  up  the  chimney  of  a  hot  house.  He  was  fol- 
lowed by  one  of  the  hounds,  who,  passing  through  a  flue  nearly 
fifty  feet  in  length,  came  out  at  the  top  of  the  chimney,  but  in  some 
way  missed  Reynard  in  its  dark  recesses.  By  this  time  a  number 
of  people  were  collected  at  the  top  of  the  chimney.  They  let  down 
a  terrier,  who,  holding  fast  by  his  brush,  soon  drove  him  out. 


JNECDOTES    OF   ANIMALS  95 


96  JNECDOTES    OF    ANIMALS 


XLvm 
THE  RIGHTS  OF  HOSPITALITY 

A  NATIVE  Moor  who  went  to  hunt  the  lion,  having  gone 
far  into  the  forest,  happened  to  meet  with  two  lion's  cubs 
that  came  to  caress  him.  The  hunter  stopped  with  the  little  ani- 
mals, and  waiting  for  the  coming  of  the  father  or  mother,  took  out 
his  breakfast  and  gave  them  a  part.  The  lioness  arrived  unseen 
by  the  huntsman,  so  that  he  had  not  time,  or  perhaps  wanted  the 
courage  to  take  his  gun.  After  having  for  some  time  looked  at 
the  man  that  was  thus  feasting  her  young,  the  lioness  went  away, 
and  soon  afterward  returned,  bearing  with  her  a  sheep,  which  she 
laid  at  the  huntsman's  feet. 

The  Moor,  thus  become  one  of  the  family,  took  this  occasion 
of  making  a  good  meal,  skinned  the  sheep,  made  a  fire,  and  then 
roasted  a  part,  giving  the  entrails  to  the  young.  The  lion  in  his 
turn  came  also;  and,  as  if  respecting  the  rights  of  hospitality,  he 
showed  no  tokens  whatever  of  ferocity.  Their  guest  the  next  day, 
having  finished  his  provisions,  returned,  and  resolved  never  more 
to  kill  any  of  those  animals,  the  noble  generosity  of  which  he  had 
so  fully  proven.  He  stroked  and  caressed  the  cubs  at  taking  leave 
of  them,  and  the  mother  and  father  went  with  him  till  he  was  safely 
out  of  the  forest. 


JNECDOTES    OF   ANIMALS 


97 


98  JNECDOTES    OF    ANIMALS 


XLIX 

A  SLY  COUPLE 

A  GENTLEMAN  in  the  county  of  Stirling  kept  a  greyhound 
and  a  pointer,  and  being  fond  of  coursing,  the  pointer  was 
accustomed  to  find  the  hares,  and  the  greyhound  to  catch  them. 
When  the  season  was  over,  it  was  found  that  the  dogs  were  in  the 
habit  of  going  out  by  themselves,  and  killing  hares  for  their  own 
amusement.  To  prevent  this,  a  large  iron  ring  was  fastened  to 
the  pointer's  neck  by  a  leather  collar,  and  allowed  to  hang  down 
so  as  to  prevent  the  dog  from  running  or  jumping  over  ditches  and 
dykes.  The  animals,  however,  continued  to  stroll  out  into  the  fields 
together;  and  one  day  the  gentleman,  suspecting  that  they  were  up 
to  some  sort  of  mischief,  decided  to  watch  them.  To  his  surprise, 
he  found  that  the  moment  when  they  thought  no  one  was  looking 
at  them,  the  greyhound  took  up  the  iron  ring  in  his  mouth,  and 
carrying  it,  they  set  off  to  the  hills,  and  began  to  search  for  hares 
as  usual.  They  were  followed,  and  it  was  discovered  that  when- 
ever the  pointer  scented  the  hare,  the  ring  was  dropped,  and  the 
greyhound  stood  ready  to  pounce  upon  the  poor  little  creature  the 
moment  the  other  drove  her  from  her  form,  but  that  he  always 
came  back  to  help  his  friend  after  he  had  caught  his  prey. 


JNECDOTES    OF    ANIMALS 


99 


100  JNECDOTES    OF   ANIMALS 


L 

OSTRICH  RIDING 

A  GENTLEMAN  tells  how,  during  the  time  he  was  living 
at  Podor,  a  French  factory  on  the  banks  of  the  river  Niger, 
there  were  two  ostriches,  though  young,  of  gigantic  size,  which 
afforded  him  a  very  remarkable  sight.  "They  were,"  he  says,  *'so 
tame  that  two  little  blacks  mounted  both  together  on  the  back  of 
the  largest.  No  sooner  did  he  feel  their  weight,  than  he  began  to 
run  as  fast  as  possible,  and  carried  them  several  times  round  the 
village,  as  it  was  impossible  to  stop  him  otherwise  than  by  putting 
something  in  the  path.  This  sight  pleased  me  so  much,  that  I  was 
anxious  to  have  it  repeated,  and  to  try  their  strength,  directed  a 
full-grown  negro  to  mount  the  smaller  and  the  two  boys  the  larger. 
This  burden  did  not  seem  at  all  too  much  for  their  strength.  At 
first  they  went  at  a  fairly  sharp  trot,  but  when  they  became  heated 
a  little,  they  expanded  their  wings  as  though  to  catch  the  wind, 
and  moved  with  such  fleetness  that  they  scarcely  seemed  to  touch 
the  ground.  Most  people  have,  at  one  time  or  another,  seen  a  par- 
tridge run;  and  therefore  know  that  there  is  no  man  whatever  able 
to  keep  up  with  it;  and  it  is  easy  to  imagine,  that  if  this  bird  had  a 
longer  step,  its  speed  would  be  much  greater.  The  ostrich  moves 
much  like  the  partridge,  with  this  advantage;  and  I  am  satisfied  that 


JNECDOTES    OF    ANIMALS 


101 


102  JNECDOTES    OF    ANIMALS 

those  I  am  speaking  of,  would  have  distanced  the  fleetest  race- 
horses that  were  ever  bred  in  England.  It  is  true  they  would  not 
hold  out  as  long  as  a  horse;  but  they  would  undoubtedly  go  over  a 
given  space  in  less  time.  I  have  often  seen  this  performance,  and 
it  gives  one  an  idea  of  the  wonderful  strength  of  an  ostrich,  and 
shows  of  what  use  it  might  be,  did  we  but  know  how  to  break  and 
manage  it  as  we  do  a  horse." 


LI 

RETRIBUTION 

A  FAWN  that  was  drinking  in  a  park,  was  suddenly  pounced 
upon  by  one  of  the  swans,  that  pulled  the  animal  into  the 
water,  and  held  it  under  till  it  was  drowned.  This  cruel  deed  was 
noticed  by  the  other  deer  in  the  park,  and  did  not  go  long  unre- 
venged;  for  shortly  after  this  the  very  swan,  which  had  never  till 
this  time  been  molested  by  the  deer,  was  singled  out  when  on  land 
one  day,  and  furiously  attacked  by  the  herd,  which  closed  around 
the  cruel  swan,  and  soon  killed  it. 


JNECDOTES    OF   ANIMALS  103 


104  JNECDOTES    OF   ANIMALS 


Ln 
AN  ELEPHANT'S  REVENGE 

PERSONS  who  have  the  care  of  elephants  have  often  noticed 
that  they  know  very  well  when  any  one  is  making  fun  of 
them,  and  that  they  very  often  revenge  themselves  when  they  have 
an  opportunity.  A  painter  wished  to  draw  an  elephant  in  the 
menagerie  at  Paris,  and  wanted  to  get  the  animal  in  a  ridiculous 
attitude,  which  was  with  his  trunk  lifted  up  and  his  mouth  open. 
To  make  the  elephant  keep  this  position,  an  attendant  threw 
fruit  and  nuts  into  the  open  mouth,  but  sometimes  he  only  preten- 
ded to  throw  them.  This  made  the  animal  very  angry,  and  as  if 
knowing  that  the  painter  rather  than  his  servant  was  the  one  to 
blame,  he  finally  turned  to  him  and  dashed  a  quantity  of  water 
from  his  trunk  over  the  paper  on  which  the  painter  was  sketching 
his  portrait. 


JNECDOTES    OF   ANIMALS         105 


106  JNECDOTES    OF    ANIMALS 


Lin 
STRANGE  PLAYMATES 

A  LITTLE  girl  about  three  years  of  age  was  noticed  for  a  num- 
ber of  days  going  a  considerable  distance  from  the  house 
with  a  piece  of  bread  her  mother  had  given  her.  This  attracted  the 
attention  of  the  mother,  who  asked  the  father  to  follow  the  child, 
and  find  out  what  she  did  with  the  bread.  On  coming  to  the  child, 
he  found  her  busy  at  work  feeding  several  snakes  of  the  species  of 
rattlesnakes  called  yellow  heads.  He  quickly  took  her  away,  went 
to  the  house  for  his  gun,  and  returning,  killed  two  of  them  at  one 
shot,  and  another  a  few  days  afterward.  The  child  called  these 
snakes  as  you  would  call  chickens,  and  when  her  father  told  her  if 
she  let  them  come  so  near  her,  they  would  bite  her,  she  replied, 
**No,  they  won't  bite.     They  only  eat  the  bread  I  give  them." 


JNECDOTES    OF   ANIMALS 


107 


108  JNECDOTES    OF    ANIMALS 


uv 
HONORS  TO  THE  LIVING  AND  THE  DEAD 

THE  people  of  Athens,  when  they  had  finished  the  temple, 
called  Hecatompedon,  set  at  liberty  the  beasts  of  burden 
that  had  been  chiefly  engaged  in  that  work,  allowing  them  to  pas- 
ture at  large,  free  from  all  further  service.  It  is  said  that  one  of 
these  animals  afterward  came  of  its  own  accord  to  work,  and  put- 
ting itself  at  the  head  of  the  laboring  cattle,  marched  before  them 
to  the  citadel.  The  people  were  pleased  with  this  action,  and  said 
that  the  animal  should  be  bept  at  public  expense  as  long  as  it  lived. 
Many  people  have  shown  particular  marks  of  regard  in  burying 
animals  which  they  have  cherished  and  been  fond  of.  The  graves 
of  Cimon's  mares,  with  which  he  thrice  conquered  at  the  Olym- 
pic games,  are  still  to  be  seen  near  his  own  tomb.  Xanthippus, 
whose  dog  swam  by  the  side  of  his  galley  to  Salamis,  when  the  Athe- 
nians were  forced  to  abandon  their  city,  afterward  buried  it  with 
great  pomp  upon  a  promontory,  which  to  this  day  is  called  the 
Dog's  Grave.  In  Pliny,  we  have  an  amusing  account  of  a  superb 
funeral  ceremony,  which  took  place  during  the  reign  of  Claudius; 
in  which  the  illustrious  departed  was  no  other  than  a  crow,  so  cele- 
brated for  its  talents  and  address,  that  it  was  looked  upon  as  a  sort 
of  public  property.    Its  death  was  felt  as  a  national  loss;  the  man 


JNECDOTES     OF    ANIMALS 


109 


no  JNECDOTES    OF    ANIMALS 

who  killed  it  was  condemned  to  expiate  the  crime  with  his  own  life; 
and  nothing  less  than  a  public  funeral  could,  as  it  was  thought,  do 
justice  to  its  memory.  The  remains  of  the  bird  were  laid  on  a  bier, 
which  was  borne  by  two  slaves;  musicians  went  before  it,  playing 
mournful  airs;  and  a  great  crowd  of  people  of  all  ages  and  condi- 
tions, brought  up  the  rear  of  the  melancholy  procession. 


LV 

MONKEY  VERSUS  SNAKE 

THE  monkeys  in  India,  knowing  by  instinct  how  dangerous 
snakes  are,  are  most  vigilant  in  their  destruction.  They 
seize  them  by  the  neck,  when  asleep,  and  running  to  the  nearest 
flat  stone,  grind  down  their  heads  by  a  strong  friction  on  the  sur- 
face, often  looking  at  them,  and  grinning  at  their  progress.  When 
sure  that  the  poisonous  fangs  are  destroyed,  they  toss  the  reptiles 
to  their  young  ones  to  play  with,  and  seem  to  be  greatly  pleased  at 
the  death  of  their  enemies. 


ANECDOTES     OF    ANIMALS  III 


112  JNECDOTES    OF    ANIMALS 


LVI 
FAITHFUL  UNTO  DEATH 

A  DOG,  between  the  breed  of  a  mastiff  and  a  bulldog,  belong- 
ing to  a  chimney  sweeper,  lay,  according  to  his  master's 
orders,  on  a  soot  bag,  which  he  had  placed,  carelessly,  almost  in 
the  middle  of  a  narrow  back  street,  in  a  town  in  the  south  of  Eng- 
land. A  loaded  cart  passing  by,  the  driver  told  the  dog  to  move 
out  of  the  way.  When  he  refused  to  move,  he  was  scolded,  then 
beaten,  first  gently,  and  afterward  pretty  hard  with  the  cart  whip. 
But  it  was  all  to  no  purpose;  the  dog  still  lay  quietly  on  the  bag. 
The  driver,  with  an  oath,  threatened  to  drive  over  the  dog — he 
did  so,  and  the  faithful  animal,  in  trying  to  stop  the  wheel  by  biting 
it,  was  crushed  to  pieces. 


Faithful  unto  Death.— Page  112 


JNECDOTES    OF    ANIMALS 


113 


Lvn 
MUSICAL  SEALS 

SEALS  have  a  very  delicate  sense  of  hearing,  and  are  much 
delighted  with  music.  A  gentleman,  in  his  account  of  a 
voyage  to  Spitzenbergen,  tells  us  that  the  son  of  the  ship's  captain 
who  was  very  fond  of  playing  on  the  violin,  never  failed  to  have  a 
large  audience  when  in  the  seas  frequented  by  these  animals;  and 
he  has  seen  them  follow  the  ship  for  miles  when  any  person  was 
playing  on  deck. 


114  JNECDOTES    OF   ANIMALS 


Lvm 
A  STRANGE  FOSTER  MOTHER 

ON  an  estate  in  Scotland  a  terrier  had  a  litter  of  pups,  which 
were  at  once  taken  away  from  her  and  drowned.  The 
unfortunate  mother  was  very  unhappy,  until,  a  few  weeks  later, 
she  saw  a  brood  of  ducklings,  which  she  seized  and  carried  to  her 
house,  where  she  kept  them,  following  them  in  and  out  with  the 
greatest  care,  and  nursing  them  after  her  own  fashion,  with  the 
most  affectionate  anxiety.  When  the  ducklings,  following  their 
natural  instinct,  went  into  the  water,  their  foster-mother  was  ter- 
ribly alarmed;  and  as  soon  as  they  came  back  to  land,  she  quickly 
snatched  them  up  in  her  mouth,  and  ran  home  with  them.  What 
is  still  more  strange  is,  that  the  same  animal,  when  her  litter  of  pups 
were  taken  away  the  year  before,  seized  two  chicks,  which  she 
brought  up  with  the  same  care  she  now  bestowed  upon  the  ducks. 
When  the  young  cocks  began  to  try  their  voices,  their  foster-mother 
was  as  much  annoyed  as  she  now  was  by  the  swimming  of  the  duck- 
ings— and  never  failed  to  repress  their  attempts  at  crowing. 


JNECDOTES     OF    ANIMALS  115 


116  JJNECDOTES    OF    ANIMALS 


UK 
SONNINI  AND  HIS  CAT 

MSONNINI,  when  in  Egypt,  had  an  Angora  cat,  of  which 
•  he  was  extremely  fond.  It  was  entirely  covered  with 
long  white  silken  hairs,  and  its  tail  formed  a  magnificent  plume, 
which  the  animal  elevated  at  })leasure  over  its  body.  Not  one  spot, 
not  a  single  dark  shade  marred  the  dazzling  whiteness  of  its  coat. 
Its  nose  and  lips  were  of  a  delicate  rose  color.  Two  large  eyes  spar- 
kled in  its  round  head;  one  was  of  yellow  and  the  other  of  fine  blue. 

This  beautiful  animal  had  even  more  beauty  of  manners  than 
grace  in  attitude  and  movements.  However  ill  any  one  used  her, 
she  never  tried  to  put  out  her  claws  from  their  sheaths.  Sensible 
to  kindness,  she  licked  the  hand  which  caressed,  and  even  the  one 
which  tormented  her.  In  Sonnini's  solitary  moments,  she  kept  the 
most  of  the  time  close  by  his  side.  She  interrupted  him  often  in 
the  midst  of  his  labors  or  meditations,  by  little  caresses  that  were 
very  touching,  and  she  usually  followed  him  in  his  walks.  During 
his  absence  she  sought  and  called  for  him  all  the  time.  She  knew 
his  voice  at  a  distance,  and  seemed  on  each  fresh  meeting  with 
him  to  feel  increased  delight. 

"This  animal,"  says  Sonnini,  "was  my  principal  amusement 
for  several  years.     How  plainly  was  her  love  for  me  shown  in  her 


JNECDOTES    OF   ANIMALS  117 


US         JNECDOTES     OF    ANIMALS 

face!  How  many  times  have  her  caresses  made  me  forget  my  trou- 
bles and  comforted  me  in  the  midst  of  my  misfortunes!  My  beau- 
tiful and  interesting  companion,  however,  at  last  died.  After  sev- 
eral days  of  suffering,  during  which  I  never  left  her,  the  light  of 
her  eyes,  which  were  constantly  fixed  on  me,  went  out,  and  her 
death  rent  my  heart  with  sorrow." 


LX 

THE  DINNER  BELL 

IT  is  customary  in  large  boarding-houses  to  announce  the  dinner- 
hour  by  sounding  a  bell.  A  cat  belonging  to  one  of  these 
houses  always  hastened  to  the  hall  on  hearing  the  bell,  to  get  its 
usual  meal;  but  it  happened  one  day  that  she  was  shut  up  at  din- 
ner time  in  a  chamber,  and  it  was  in  vain  for  her  that  the  bell  had 
rung.  Some  hours  afterward,  having  been  released  from  her  con- 
finement, she  hastened  to  the  hall,  but  found  nothing  left  for  her. 
The  clever  cat  then  went  to  the  bell,  and  ringing  it,  tried  to  call 
the  family  to  a  second  dinner,  in  which  she  hoped  to  get  her  usual 
share. 


JNECDOTES    OF    ANIMALS  119 


120  jlNECDOTES     OF    ANIMALS 


FORAGING 

A  CONSTABLE  once  made  a  complaint  before  a  bench  of 
London  magistrates  against  a  horse  for  stealing  hay.  The 
complainant  stated  that  the  horse  came  regularly  every  night  of  its 
own  accord,  and  without  any  attendant,  to  the  coach  stands  in  St. 
George's,  ate  all  he  wanted,  and  then  galloped  away.  He  defied  the 
whole  of  the  parish  officers  to  catch  him ;  for  if  they  tried  to  go  near 
him  while  he  was  eating,  he  would  throw  up  his  heels  and  kick  at  them, 
or  run  at  them,  and  if  they  did  not  get  out  of  the  way,  he  would  bite 
them.  The  constable,  therefore,  thought  it  best  to  bring  the  case  to 
the  attention  of  the  magistrates. 

"Well,  Mr.  Constable,"  said  one  of  the  magistrates,  *'if  you  should 
be  annoyed  again  by  this  animal  in  the  execution  of  your  duty,  you 
may  arrest  him  if  you  can,  and  bring  him  before  us  to  answer  your 
complaints. " 


JNECDOTES     OF   ANIMALS 


121 


'22  J  NEC  DOTES    OF    ANIMALS 


Lxn 
THE  TAME  SEA  GULL 

MANY  years  ago  a  gentleman  accidentally  caught  a  sea-gull. 
He  cut  its  wings  and  put  it  in  his  garden.    The  bird  remained 
there  for  several  years,  and  being  kindly  treated,  became  so  tame  as 
to  come  at  call  to  be  fed  at  the  kitchen  door.    It  was  known  by  the 
name  of  Willie.    This  bird  became  at  last  so  tame  that  no  pains  were 
taken  to  keep  it,  and,  its  wings  having  grown  to  full  length,  it  flew 
away,  joined  the  other  gulls  on  the  beach,  and  came  back  from  time  to 
time,  to  pay  a  visit  to  the  house.    When  its  companions  left  the  country 
at  the  usual  season,  Willie  went  with  them,  much  to  the  regret  of  the 
family.     To  their  great  joy,  however,  it  returned  next  season;  and 
with  its  usual  familiarity  came  to  its  old  haunt,  where  it  was  welcomed 
and  fed  liberally.    In  this  way  it  went  and  returned  for  forty  years, 
without  missing  a  year,  and  kept  up  its  acquaintance  in  the  most  cor- 
dial manner;  for  while  in  the  country,  it  visited  them  almost  daily, 
answered  to  its  name  like  any  domestic  animal,  and  almost  ate  out  of 
the  hand.    One  year,  however,  Willie  did  not  pay  his  respects  to  the 
family  for  eight  or  ten  days  after  the  general  flock  of  gulls  were  upon 
the  coast,  and  great  was  the  concern    and  sorrow  over  his  loss,  as  it 
was  thought  he  must  surely  be  dead;  but  to  the  surprise  and  joy  of  the 
family,  a  servant  one  morning  came  running  into  the  breakfast-room 


JNECDOTES    OF    ANIMALS  123 


124  JNECDOTES    OF    ANIMALS 

in  great  joy,  saying  that  Willie  had  returned.  Food  was  soon  supplied 
in  abundance,  and  Willie  with  his  usual  frankness  ate  of  it  heartily* 
and  was  as  tame  as  any  barn-yard  fowl  about  the  house.  After  a  year 
or  two  more,  however,  this  grateful  bird  never  came  again. 


Lxm 
A  STRANGE  PROTECTOR 

A  LADY  had  a  tame  bird  which  she  was  in  the  habit  of  letting 
out  of  its  cage  every  day.  One  morning  as  it  was  picking 
crumbs  of  bread  off  the  carpet,  her  cat,  who  had  always  showed  before 
great  kindness  toward  the  bird,  suddenly  seized  it,  and  jumped  with 
it  in  her  mouth  upon  a  table.  The  lady  was  alarmed  for  the  fate  of  her 
favorite,  but  on  turning  about,  instantly  saw  the  cause.  The  door  had 
been  left  open,  and  a  strange  cat  had  just  come  into  the  room !  After 
she  had  put  it  out,  her  own  cat  came  down  from  her  place  of  safety, 
and  dropped  the  bird  without  having  done  it  the  least  injury. 


JINECDOTES    OF    ANIMALS 


125 


126  JNECDOTES    OF    ANIMALS 


LXIV 
THE  UON  AND  HIS  KEEPER 

IN  a  large  menagerie  there  was  a  lion  called  Danco,  whose  cage 
needed  some  repairs.  His  keeper  hired  a  carpenter  to  do  the 
work,  but  when  the  workman  came  and  saw  the  lion,  he  started  back 
in  terror.  The  keeper  entered  the  animal's  cage,  and  led  him  to  the 
upper  part  of  it,  while  the  lower  was  being  fixed.  He  there  amused 
himself  for  some  time  playing  with  the  lion,  and  being  wearied,  at  last 
fell  asleep.  The  carpenter,  relying  fully  upon  the  vigilance  of  the 
keeper,  went  on  rapidly  with  his  work,  and  when  he  had  finished  it,  he 
called  him  to  see  what  was  done.  The  keeper  made  no  answer.  Hav- 
ing repeatedly  called  him  in  vain,  he  began  to  feel  alarmed  at  his  sit- 
uation, and  he  determined  to  go  to  the  upper  part  of  the  cage,  where, 
looking  through  the  railing,  he  saw  the  lion  and  the  keeper  sleeping 
side  by  side.  He  immediately  uttered  a  loud  cry;  the  lion,  awakened 
by  the  noise,  started  up  and  stared  at  the  carpenter  with  an  eye  of  fury, 
and  then,  placing  his  paw  on  the  breast  of  his  keeper,  lay  down  to 
sleep  again.  At  length  the  keeper  was  awakened  by  some  of  the  atten- 
dants, and  he  did  not  appear  in  the  least  worried  by  the  situation  in 
which  he  found  himself,  but  shook  the  lion  by  the  paw,  and  then  gently 
conducted  him  to  his  old  cage. 


ANECDOTES    OF   ANIMALS  127 


128  JNECDOTES    OF    ANIMALS 


LXV 
A  USURPER  PUNISHED 

SOME  years  ago  a  sparrow  had  early  in  the  spring  taken  possession 
of  a  swallow's  old  nest,  and  had  laid  some  eggs  in  it,  when  the 
original  builder  and  owner  made  her  appearance  and  claimed  posses- 
sion. The  sparrow,  firmly  seated,  refused  to  leave  the  nest.  A  smart 
battle  followed,  in  which  the  swallow  was  joined  by  its  mate,  and, 
during  the  conflict,  by  several  of  their  comrades.  All  the  efforts  of  the 
swallows  to  drive  out  the  usurper  were,  however,  unsuccessful.  Find- 
ing themselves  completely  foiled  in  this  object,  they  held  a  council  of 
war  to  consult  as  to  what  they  should  do,  and  the  plan  they  agreed 
upon  shows  that  it  was  with  no  ordinary  degree  of  ingenuity  that  they 
had  solved  the  question  as  to  what  was  right  and  just.  Since  the  spar- 
row could  not  be  driven  out  of  the  nest,  the  next  question  with  them 
appears  to  have  been,  how  she  could  be  otherwise  punished  for  her 
unlawful  occupation  of  a  property  belonging  to  another.  The  council 
were  of  one  mind  in  thinking  that  nothing  short  of  the  death  of  the 
intruder  could  atone  for  so  heinous  an  offense;  and  having  so  decided, 
they  went  to  work  to  put  their  sentence  into  execution  in  the  following 
very  wonderful  manner.  Leaving  the  scene  of  the  contest  for  a  timC; 
they  returned  with  many  more  friends,  each  bearing  a  beak  full  of 
building  materials;  and  without  any  further  attempt  to  beat  out  the 
sparrow,  they  at  once  set  to  work  to  build  up  the  entrance  into  the 


J  NEC  DOTES    OF    ANIMALS  129 


130  JNECDOTES     OF    ANIMALS 

nest,  and  soon  had  enclosed  the  sparrow  within  the  clay  tenement, 
thus  leaving  the  poor  bird  to  perish  in  the  stronghold  she  had  so 
bravely  defended. 


LXVl 

STRANGE  ROOKS 

IN  a  large  north  of  England  town  a  pair  of  strange  rooks,  after 
trying  in  vain  to  find  a  home  in  a  rookery  at  a  little  distance 
from  the  Exchange,  gave  up  the  attempt,  and  took  refuge  on  the  spire 
of  a  building;  and  although  constantly  bothered  by  other  rooks,  they 
built  their  nest  on  the  top  of  the  vane,  and  there  reared  a  brood  of 
young  ones,  undisturbed  by  the  noise  of  the  people  below  them.  The 
nest  and  its  inmates  were,  of  course,  turned  about  by  every  change  of 
the  wind.  For  ten  years  they  continued  to  build  their  nest  in  the  same 
place,  soon  after  which  the  spire  was  taken  down. 


JNECDOTES    OF    ANIMALS  131 


132  JNECDOTES    OF    ANIMALS 


Lxvn 

TAME  HARES 

THE  hare  is  scarcely  a  domestic  animal;  yet  we  have  an  account 
of  one  that  was  so  tame  as  to  feed  from  the  hand,  lie  under  a 
chair  in  the  sitting-room,  and  appear  in  every  way  as  easy  and  com- 
fortable as  a  lapdog.  It  now  and  then  went  out  into  the  garden,  but, 
after  hopping  about  in  the  fresh  air  for  a  while,  it  always  returned  to 
the  house.  Its  usual  companions  were  a  greyhound  and  a  spaniel, 
with  whom  it  spent  its  evenings,  the  whole  three  playing  and  sleeping 
together  on  the  same  hearth.  What  makes  the  circumstance  more 
remarkable  is,  that  the  greyhound  and  spaniel  were  both  so  fond  of 
hare-hunting,  that  they  used  often  to  go  out  coursing  together,  without 
anybody  with  them.  They  were  like  the  "  Sly  Couple, "  of  whose  devo- 
tion to  the  chase  an  amusing  story  is  told. 

A  traveller  once  brought  a  young  hare  to  such  a  degree  of  frolic- 
some familiarity,  that  it  would  run  and  jump  about  his  sofa  and  bed; 
leap  upon  and  pat  him  with  its  fore  feet;  or  while  he  was  reading,  it 
would  sometimes  knock  the  book  out  of  his  hands,  as  if  to  claim,  like 
a  fondled  child,  his  exclusive  attention. 


JNECDOTES    OF    ANIMALS  133 


134  JNECDOTES    OF    ANIMALS 


Lxvm 
THE  PIG  POINTER 

A  SOW,  which  was  a  thin,  long-legged  animal,  when  young  took 
such  a  fancy  to  some  pointer  puppies  that  a  gamekeeper  on 
a  neighboring  estate  was  breaking,  that  it  played,  and  often  came  to 
feed  with  them.  This  led  the  gamekeeper,  who  had  broken  many 
a  dog  as  obstinate  as  a  pig,  to  think  he  might  also  manage  to  break  a  pig. 

The  little  animal  would  often  go  out  with  the  puppies  to  some  dis- 
tance from  home;  and  he  coaxed  it  farther  by  a  sort  of  pudding  made 
of  barley  meal,  which  he  carried  in  one  of  his  pockets.  The  other 
pocket  he  filled  with  stones,  which  he  threw  at  the  pig  whenever  she 
misbehaved. 

He  found  the  animal  tractable,  and  soon  taught  her  what  he  wished 
by  this  mode  of  reward  and  punishment.  They  were  frequently  seen 
out  together,  when  the  sow  quartered  her  ground  as  regularly  as  any 
pointer,  stood  when  she  came  on  game  (having  an  excellent  nose), 
and  backed  other  dogs  as  well  as  ever  a  pointer  did.  When  she  came 
on  the  cold  scent  of  game,  she  slackened  her  trot,  and  gradually 
dropped  her  ears  and  tail;  till  she  was  certain,  and  then  fell  down  on 
her  knees.  So  staunch  was  she,  that  she  would  frequently  remain  for 
five  minutes  and  upwards  on  her  point.  As  soon  as  the  game  rose, 
she  always  returned  to  her  master,  grunting  very  loud,  for  her  reward 
of  pudding,  if  it  was  not  at  once  given  to  her. 


.ANECDOTES    OF    ANIMALS  135 


136  JNECDOTES     OF    ANIMALS 


LXIX 
A  WISE  OURANG-OUTANG 

A    WELL-KNOWN  traveller  tell  a  story  about  the  ourang-outang 
in  its  wild  state,  which  shows  that  it  has  both  a  good  memory 
and  some  ingenuity. 

When  the  fruits  on  the  mountains  are  gone,  these  animals  often  go 
down  to  the  seacoast,  where  they  feed  upon  various  kinds  of  shell-fish, 
but  in  particular  on  a  large  sort  of  oyster,  w^hich  commonly  lies  open 
on  the  shore.  "Fearful,"  he  says,  "of  putting  in  their  paws,  lest  the 
oyster  should  close  and  crush  them,  they  insert  a  stone  as  a  wedge  with- 
in the  shell.  This  prevents  it  from  closing,  and  they  then  drag  out 
their  prey,  and  devour  it  at  leisure." 


J  NEC  DOTES    OF    ANIMALS  137 


138  JNECDOTES    OF   ANIMALS 


LXX 

A  GRACEFUL  RETURN 

A  FAVORITE  house-dog,  left  to  the  care  of  its  master's  ser- 
vants, while  he  was  himself  away,  would  have  been  starved  by 
them  if  it  had  not  found  a  friend  in  the  kitchen  of  a  friend  of  its  mas- 
ter's, which  in  better  days  it  had  occasionally  visited.  On  the  return  of 
the  master  it  had  plenty  at  home,  and  had  no  further  need  of  food ;  but 
still  it  did  not  forget  the  place  where  it  had  found  a  friend  in  need.  A 
few  days  after,  the  dog  fell  in  with  a  duck,  which,  as  he  found  in  no 
private  pond,  he  no  doubt  decided  was  no  private  property.  He 
snatched  up  the  duck  in  his  teeth,  carried  it  to  the  kitchen  where  he 
had  been  so  generously  fed,  laid  it  at  the  cook's  feet,  with  many  polite 
movements  of  his  tail,  and  then  scampered  off  with  much  seeming  joy 
at  having  given  this  real  proof  of  his  gratitude. 


JNECDOTES    OF    ANIMALS  139 


140  J  NEC  DOTES    OF    ANIMALS 


LXXI 
WRENS  LEARNING  TO  SING 

A  WREN  built  her  nest  in  a  box,  so  placed  that  a  family  had  a 
chance  to  watch  the  mother  bird  teaching  her  young  ones  the 
art  of  singing  peculiar  to  wrens.  She  fixed  herself  on  one  side  of  the 
opening  in  the  box,  directly  before  the  young  birds,  and  began  sing- 
ing over  her  whole  song  very  distinctly.  One  of  the  little  birds  then 
tried  to  imitate  her.  After  singing  through  a  few  notes,  its  voice 
broke  and  it  lost  the  tune.  The  mother  at  once  began  again  where  the 
young  one  had  failed,  and  went  very  distinctly  through  the  rest  of 
the  song.  The  young  bird  made  a  second  attempt,  beginning  where 
it  had  stopped  before,  and  kept  up  the  song  as  long  as  it  was  able.  If 
the  note  was  lost  again,  the  mother  began  anew  where  it  stopped,  and 
finished  it.    Then  the  little  one  resumed  the  song  and  finished  it. 

This  done,  the  mother  sang  over  the  whole  series  of  notes  a  second 
time  with  great  care,  and  a  second  of  the  young  ones  tried  to  follow 
her.  The  wren  followed  the  same  course  with  this  one  as  with  the 
first;  and  so  on  with  the  third  and  all  the  rest.  It  sometimes  hap- 
pened that  the  young  bird  would  lose  the  tune  three  or  four  or  more 
times  in  the  same  attempt,  and  the  mother  would  always  begin  where 
they  stopped  and  sing  the  rest  of  the  song;  and  when  each  little  bird 
had  sung  the  whole  song  through,  she  repeated  the  whole  strain. 


JNECDOTES    OF   ANIMALS  141 


142  JNECDOTES     OF    ANIMALS 


Sometimes  two  of  the  young  birds  began  together.  The  mother  did 
just  the  same  as  when  one  sang  alone.  This  practise  was  repeated 
day  after  day,  and  several  times  a  day. 


Lxxn 
RARE  HONESTY 


A  MASTIFF  dog,  who  owed  more  to  the  kindness  of  a  neighbor 
than  to  his  master,  was  once  locked  by  mistake  in  the  well- 
stored  pantry  of  his  benefactor  for  a  whole  day,  where  there  were, 
within  his  reach,  milk,  butter,  bread  and  meat,  in  abundance.  On 
the  return  of  the  servant  to  the  pantry,  seeing  the  dog  come  out,  and 
knowing  the  time  it  had  been  shut  in  there,  she  trembled  for  fear  of  the 
waste  which  she  was  sure  her  carelessness  must  have  brought  about; 
but  on  close  examination,  it  was  found  that  the  honest  creature  had 
not  tasted  of  anything,  although,  on  coming  out,  he  fell  on  a  bone  that 
was  given  him,  with  all  the  greediness  of  hunger. 


JNECDOTES     OF    ANIMALS  143 


M4  JNECDOTES    OF    ANIMALS 


Lxxm 
DIVISION  OF  LABOR 

THE  Alpine  marmots  are  said  to  work  together  in  the  collection 
of  materials  for  the  building  of  their  homes.  Some  of  them, 
we  are  told,  cut  the  herbage,  others  collect  it  into  heaps;  a  third  set 
serve  as  wagons  to  carry  it  to  their  holes;  while  still  others  perform 
all  the  work  of  draught  horses.  The  manner  of  the  latter  part  of  the 
curious  process  is  this.  The  animal  that  is  to  be  the  wagon,  lies  down 
on  its  back,  and  stretching  out  its  four  legs  as  wide  as  it  can,  allows 
itself  to  be  loaded  with  hay;  and  those  that  are  to  be  the  horses,  drag 
it,  thus  loaded,  by  the  tail,  taking  care  not  to  upset  the  creature.  The 
task  of  thus  serving  as  a  wagon  being,  evidently,  the  least  desirable 
part  of  the  business,  is  taken  by  every  one  of  the  party  in  turn. 


ANECDOTES    OF    ANIMALS  145 


146  JNECDOTES    OF    ANIMALS 

LXXTV 
A  TALKING  PARROT 

DURING  the  time  that  Prince  Maurice  was  ruling  in  Brazil, 
he  heard  of  an  old  parrot  that  was  much  celebrated  for 
answering  like  a  human  being,  many  of  the  common  questions  put 
to  it.  It  was  at  a  great  distance;  but  so  much  had  been  said  about 
it  that  the  prince's  curiosity  was  roused,  and  he  directed  it  to  be 
sent  for. 

When  the  parrot  was  brought  into  the  room  where  the  prince 
was  sitting,  in  company  with  several  Dutchmen,  it  at  once  cried 
out  in  the  Brazilian  language,  "What  a  company  of  white  men 
are  here!"  They  asked  it,  "Who  is  that  man?"  (pointing  to  the 
prince).  The  parrot  answered,  "Some  general  or  other."  When 
the  attendants  carried  it  up  to  him,  he  asked  it,  through  the  aid  of 
an  interpreter  (for  he  did  not  understand  its  language),  "Whence 
do  you  come.^"     The  parrot  answered,  "From  Marignan." 

The  prince  asked,  "To  whom  do  you  belong?"  It  answered, 
"To  a  Portuguese."  He  asked  again,  "What  do  you  there?" 
The  parrot  answered,  "I  look  after  chickens."  The  prince  laugh- 
ing, exclaimed,  "You  look  after  chickens!"  The  parrot  in  reply 
said,  "Yes,  I  do;  and  I  know  well  how  to  do  it;"  clucking  at  the 
same  time  in  imitation  of  the  noise  made  by  the  hen  to  call  her  lit- 
tle chicks  together. 


JNECDOTES    OF    ANIMALS  147 


148  JNECDOTES     OF    ANIMALS 

The  prince  afterward  said  that  although  the  parrot  spoke  in  a 
language  he  did  not  understand,  yet  he  could  not  be  deceived,  for 
he  had  in  the  room  at  the  time  both  a  Dutchman  who  spoke  Bra- 
zilian, and  a  Brazilian  who  spoke  Dutch;  that  he  asked  them  sep- 
arately and  privately,  and  both  agreed  exactly  in  their  account  of 
the  parrot's  conversation. 


LXXV 

A  CHARITABLE  CANARY 

A  PAIR  of  goldfinches  who  had  had  the  misfortune  to  be 
captured  with  their  nest  and  six  young  ones,  were  placed 
in  a  double  cage,  with  a  pair  of  canaries,  which  had  a  brood  of  lit- 
tle ones  also;  there  being  a  partition  of  wire  netting  between  the 
cages. 

At  first  the  goldfinches  seemed  careless  about  their  young  ones. 
The  father  canary,  attracted  by  the  cries  of  the  baby  goldfinches, 
forced  himself  through  a  flaw  in  the  wire,  and  began  to  feed  them. 
This  it  did  regularly,  until  the  goldfinches  undertook  the  work 
themselves,  and  rendered  the  kindness  of  the  canary  no  longer 
necessary. 


ANECDOTES    OF   ANIMALS         149 


/50  JNECDOTES    OF    ANIMALS 


LXXVI 
CHOOSING  THE  LEAST  OF  TWO  EVILS 

A  FRENCH  dog  was  taught  by  his  master  to  run  many  dif- 
ferent errands,  among  others  to  bring  him  his  meals  from 
a  restaurant.  The  dog  carried  the  food  in  a  basket,  and  one  eve- 
ning, wher  the  dog  was  returning  to  his  master  with  his  dinner, 
two  other  dogs,  attracted  by  the  savory  smell  coming  from  the  bas- 
ket, made  up  their  minds  to  attack  him.  The  dog  put  his  basket 
on  the  ground  and  set  himself  courageously  against  the  first  one 
that  advanced  against  him;  but  while  he  was  fighting  with  one, 
the  other  ran  to  the  basket,  and  began  to  help  himself.  At  length, 
seeing  that  there  was  no  chance  of  beating  both  dogs,  and  saving 
his  master's  dinner,  he  threw  himself  between  his  two  opponents, 
and  without  further  ceremony,  quickly  ate  up  the  rest  of  the  food 
himself,  and  then  returned  to  his  master  with  the  empty  basket. 


JNECDOTES    OF    ANIMALS  151 


152  JNECDOTES    OF   ANIMALS 


Lxxvn 
GOING  TO  MARKET 

A  BUTCHER  and  cattle  dealer  had  a  dog  which  he  usually 
took  with  him  when  he  drove  cattle  to  market  at  a  town 
some  nine  miles  distant  from  his  home,  to  be  sold.  The  dog  was 
very  clever  at  managing  the  cattle. 

At  last,  so  sure  was  the  master  of  the  wisdom  and  faithfulness 
of  his  dog,  that  he  made  a  wager  that  he  would  trust  him  with  a 
certain  number  of  sheep  and  oxen,  and  let  him  drive  them  to  the 
market  all  by  himself.  It  was  agreed  that  no  person  should  be 
within  sight  or  hearing — at  least  no  one  who  had  any  control  over 
the  dog;  nor  was  anybody  to  interfere  or  be  within  a  quarter  of  a 
mile. 

On  the  day  of  the  trial,  the  dog  went  about  his  business  in  the 
most  skilful  and  knowing  manner;  and  although  he  had  often  to 
drive  his  charge  through  the  herds  that  were  grazing,  yet  he  never 
lost  one,  but  conducting  them  into  the  very  yard  to  which  he  was 
wont  to  drive  them  when  with  his  master,  he  delivered  them  up  to 
the  person  appointed  to  receive  them. 

What  more  particularly  marked  the  dog's  sagacity  was,  that, 
when  the  path  the  herd  travelled  lay  through  a  spot  where  others 
were  grazing,  he  would  run  forward,  stop  his  own  drove,  and  then 


JNECDOTES    OF    ANIMALS  153 


\ 


154  JNECDOTES    OF    ANIMALS 

driving  the  others  from  each  side  of  the  path,  collect  his  scattered 
charge  and  then  go  on  again.  He  was  several  times  afterward  sent 
thus  alone  for  the  amusement  of  the  curious  or  the  convenience  of 
his  master,  and  always  did  his  work  in  the  same  adroit  and  intelli- 
gent manner. 


LXXVIII 

THE  CATCHER  CAUGHT 

DURING  a  sudden  flood  in  the  Rhine,  a  hare,  unable  to  find 
a  way  of  escape  through  the  water  to  higher  land,  climbed 
up  a  tree.  One  of  the  boatmen  rowing  about  to  assist  the  unfor- 
tunate people,  seeing  her,  rowed  up  to  the  tree,  and,  eager  for  the 
game,  climbed  it,  without  properly  fastening  his  boat. 

The  frightened  hare,  as  its  pursuer  came  near,  sprang  from  the 
tree  into  the  boat,  which  thus  set  in  motion,  floated  away,  leaving 
its  owner  in  the  tree  in  dread  of  being  washed  away  by  the  cur- 
rent. After  several  hours'  anxiety,  he  was  seen,  and  taken  off  by 
some  of  his  companions. 


JNECDOTES    OF    ANIMALS  155 


156  JlNECDOTES    OF    ANIMALS 


•  LXXIX 

SNAKE  DESTROYERS 

THE  Indian  ichneumon,  a  small  creature,  looking  like  both  the 
weasel  and  the  mongoose,  is  of  great  use  to  the  natives  because 
of  its  great  hatred  of  snakes,  which  would  otherwise  make  every  foot- 
step of  the  traveller  most  dangerous.  This  little  creature,  on  seeing 
a  snake,  no  matter  how  large,  will  instantly  dart  on  it,  and  seize 
it  by  the  throat,  if  he  finds  himself  in  an  open  place,  where  he  has  a 
chance  of  running  to  a  certain  herb,  which  he  some  way  knows  to  be 
an  antidote  against  the  poison  of  the  bite,  if  he  should  happen  to 
receive  one.  A  gentleman  visiting  the  island  of  Ceylon  saw  the  experi- 
ment tried  in  a  closed  room,  where  the  ichneumon,  instead  of  attack- 
ing his  enemy,  did  all  in  his  power  to  avoid  him.  On  being  carried 
out  of  the  house,  however,  and  put  near  his  antagonist  in  the  field,  he 
at  once  darted  at  the  snake,  and  soon  killed  it.  It  then  suddenly 
disappeared  for  a  few  minutes,  and  again  returned  as  soon  as  it  had 
found  and  eaten  the  herb  it  knew  was  an  antidote. 


JNECDOTES    OF    ANIMALS  157 


158  J  NEC  DOTES    OF    ANIMALS 


LXXX 
MUSICAL  MICE 

'*  y^'XNE  rainy  winter  evening,  as  I  was  alone  in  my  room," 
V»^  says  an  American  gentleman,  "  I  took  up  my  flute  and  began 
to  play.  In  a  few  minutes  my  attention  was  directed  to  a  mouse 
that  I  saw  creeping  from  a  hole,  and  coming  toward  the  chair  in 
which  I  was  sitting.  I  stopped  playing,  and  it  ran  quickly  back 
to  its  hole.  I  began  again  shortly  afterward,  and  was  much  sur- 
prised to  see  it  reappear,  and  take  its  old  position.  The  actions 
of  the  little  animal  were  truly  amusing.  It  lay  down  on  the  floor, 
shut  its  eyes,  and  seemed  delighted,  but  the  minute  I  stopped  my 
playing,  it  instantly  disappeared  again.  This  experiment  I  often 
repeated  with  the  same  result.  I  also  noted  that  the  mouse  was 
differently  affected,  as  the  music  varied  from  the  slow  and  sad 
to  the  brisk  or  lively.  It  finally  went  away,  and  all  my  art  could 
not  coax  it  to  return." 


JNECDOTES    OF    ANIMALS         159 


160  JNECDOTES    OF    ANIMALS 

LXXXI 

A  CARRIER'S  DOG 

A  CARRIER  on  his  way  to  a  market  town  had  to  stop  at 
some  houses  by  the  roadside,  in  the  way  of  his  business, 
leaving  his  cart  and  horse  upon  the  public  road,  under  the  pro- 
tection of  a  passenger  and  a  trusty  dog.  Upon  his  return  he  missed 
one  of  the  women  passengers,  and  likewise  a  led  horse  which  was 
owned  by  a  gentleman  of  the  neighborhood.  The  horse  he  was 
taking  along,  tied  to  the  end  of  the  cart.  On  inquiry  he  found  out 
that  during  his  absence,  the  woman,  who  had  been  anxious  to  try 
the  mettle  of  the  pony,  had  mounted  it,  and  the  animal  had  set  off 
at  full  speed.  The  carrier  expressed  much  anxiety  for  the  safety 
of  the  young  woman,  casting  at  the  same  time  an  expressive  look 
at  his  dog.  Oscar  observed  his  master's  eye,  and  aware  of  its  mean- 
ing, instantly  set  off  in  pursuit  of  the  pony.  Coming  up  with  it 
soon  after,  he  made  a  sudden  spring,  seized  the  bridle,  and  held 
the  animal  fast.  Several  people,  having  seen  his  actions,  and  the 
dangerous  situation  of  the  girl,  hastened  to  her  aid.  Oscar,  how- 
ever, notwithstanding  their  repeated  endeavors,  would  not  let  go 
his  hold,  and  the  pony  was  actually  led  into  the  stable  with  the 
dog  still  clinging  to  it.  When  the  carrier  entered  the  stable,  Oscar 
wagged  his  tail  in  token  of  his  satisfaction,  and  at  once  gave  up 
the  bridle  to  his  master. 


A  Carrier's  Dog. —  Page  160 


JNECDOTES    OF    ANIMALS 


161 


Lxxxn 
A  TAME  COLONY 

A  WELL-KNOWN  traveller,  in  describing  the  Island  of 
Tristan  d'Acunha,  states  that  the  animals  found  on  this 
lonely  spot  were  so  tame,  that  it  was  necessary  to  clear  a  path  right 
through  the  mass  of  birds  which  were  sitting  on  the  rocks,  and 
this  was  done  by  simply  kicking  them  aside.  One  kind  of  seal 
did  not  move  at  all  when  struck  or  pelted,  and  at  last  some  of  the 
company  amused  themselves  by  mounting  them,  and  riding  them 
into  the  sea. 


162  ANECDOTES     OF    ANIMALS 


Lxxxra 
THE  BEAR  CUBS 

A  MOTHER  bear,  with  two  cubs,  came  too  near  a  whaler, 
and  was  shot.  The  cubs  not  trying  to  escape,  were  taken 
alive.  The  little  creatures,  though  at  first  seeming  quite  unhappy, 
at  length  became  in  some  measure  reconciled  to  their  fate,  and 
being  quite  tame,  were  allowed  sometimes  to  go  at  large  about  the 
deck. 

While  the  ship  was  moored  to  a  floe  a  few  days  after  they  were 
taken,  one  of  them  having  a  rope  fastened  round  his  neck,  was 
thrown  overboard.  It  at  once  swam  to  the  ice,  got  upon  it,  and 
tried  to  escape.  Finding  itself,  however,  held  by  the  rope,  it  tried 
to  free  itself  in  the  following  clever  way. 

Near  the  edge  of  the  floe  was  a  crack  in  the  ice.  It  was  of  con- 
siderable length,  I  ut  only  eighteen  inches  or  two  feet  wide,  and 
three  or  four  feet  deep.  To  this  spot  the  bear  turned;  and  when, 
on  crossing  the  chasm,  the  bight  of  the  rope  fell  into  it,  he  placed 
himself  across  the  opening;  then  suspending  himself  by  his  hind  feet, 
with  a  leg  on  each  side,  he  dropped  his  head  and  most  all  of  his 
body  into  the  chasm;  and  with  a  foot  applied  to  each  side  of  the 
neck,  tried  fof  some  minutes  to  push  the  rope  over  his  head. 

Finding  that  this  scheme  did  not  work,  he  moved  to  the  main 


JNECDOTES    OF    ANIMALS 


163 


164  JNECDOTES    OF    ANIMALS 

ice,  and  running  with  great  force  from  the  ship,  gave  a  strong  put 
on  the  rope;  then  going  backward  a  few  steps,  he  repeated  the  jerk. 
At  length,  after  repeated  attempts  to  make  his  escape  in  this  way, 
every  failure  of  which  he  announced  with  an  angry  growl,  he  gave 
himself  up  to  his  hard  fate,  and  lay  down  on  the  ice  in  angry  and 
sullen  silence. 


LXXXIV 

< 

DECEIVING  THE  FOWLER 

A  YOUNG  pointer,  out  with  his  master  hunting,  ran  on  a 
brood  of  very  small  partridges.  The  old  bird  cried,  flut- 
tered, and  ran  trembling  along  just  before  the  dog's  nose,  till  she 
had  drawn  him  to  a  considerable  distance;  when  she  took  wing 
and  flew  farther  off,  but  not  out  of  the  field.  At  this  the  dog  went 
back  nearly  to  the  place  where  the  young  ones  lay  concealed  in  the 
grass.  The  old  bird  no  sooner  saw  this  than  she  flew  back  again, 
settled  first  before  the  dog's  nose,  and  a  second  time  acted  the  same 
part,  rolling  and  tumbling  about  till  she  drew  off  his  attention  from 
the  brood,  and  thus  succeeded  in  saving  them. 


jJNECDOTES    OF    ANIMALS 


165 


166  JNECDOTES     OF    ANIMALS 


LXXXV 

ASKING  ASSISTANCE 

A  PARTY  of  a  ship's  crew  was  sent  ashore  on  a  part  of  the 
coast  of  India,  for  the  purpose  of  cutting  wood  for  the  ship. 
One  of  the  men,  having  strayed  from  the  rest,  was  greatly  frightened 
by  the  appearance  of  a  large  lioness,  who  came  toward  him.  But 
when  she  had  come  up  to  him,  she  lay  down  at  his  feet,  and  looked 
very  earnestly,  first  at  him,  and  then  at  a  tree  a  short  distance  off. 
After  doing  this  several  times,  she  arose  and  started  toward  the 
tree,  looking  back  at  the  man  several  times,  as  if  trying  to  make 
him  follow  her.  At  length  he  went,  and  when  he  reached  the  tree, 
he  saw  a  huge  baboon  with  two  young  cubs  in  her  arms.  He  sup- 
posed they  must  belong  to  the  lioness,  as  she  lay  down  like  a  cat, 
and  seemed  to  be  watching  them  very  anxiously.  The  man  being 
afraid  to  climb  the  tree,  decided  to  cut  it  down,  and  having  his 
axe  with  him,  he  at  once  set  to  work,  the  lioness,  meantine,  watch- 
ing to  see  what  he  was  doing.  When  the  tree  fell,  she  sprang  upon 
the  baboon,  and  after  tearing  her  in  pieces,  she  turned  round  and 
fawned  round  the  man,  rubbing  her  head  against  him  in  great  fond- 
ness, and  in  token  of  her  gratitude  for  the  service  he  had  done  her. 
After  this  she  took  the  cubs  away,  one  at  a  time,  and  the  man  went 
back  to  the  ship. 


JNECDOTES    OF    ANIMALS  167 


168  ,/lNECDOTES    OF   ANIMALS 


LXXXVI 
DOG  SMUGGLERS 

IN  the  Netherlands,  they  use  dogs  of  a  very  large  and  strong 
breed  as  they  would  horses.  They  are  harnessed  like  horses, 
and  chiefly  employed  in  drawing  little  carts  filled  with  fish,  vege- 
tables, and  other  produce.  Before  the  year  1795,  such  dogs  were 
also  employed  in  smuggling;  which  was  the  easier,  as  they  are 
exceedingly  docile. 

The  dogs  were  trained  to  go  back  and  forth  between  two  places 
on  the  frontiers,  without  any  person  to  attend  them.  Being  well 
loaded  with  little  parcels  of  goods,  lace,  and  the  like,  they  set  out 
at  midnight,  and  went  only  when  it  was  perfectly  dark.  An  excel- 
lent, quick-scented  dog  always  went  some  paces  before  the  others, 
stretched  out  his  nose  toward  all  quarters,  and  when  he  scented 
custom  house  officers,  turned  back,  which  was  the  signal  for  imme- 
diate flight. 

Concealed  behind  bushes,  or  in  ditches,  the  dogs  waited  till 
all  was  safe,  then  continued  their  journey,  and  at  last  reached, 
beyond  the  frontier,  the  dwelling-house  of  the  receiver  of  the 
goods,  who  was  in  the  secret.  But  here,  also,  the  leading  dog  only 
at  first  showed  himself.  On  a  certain  whistle,  which  was  a  signal 
that  all  was  right,  they  all  hastened  up.    They  were  then  unloaded. 


JNECDOTES     OF    ANIMALS 


169 


170  JNECDOTES    OF    ANIMALS 

taken  to  a  nearby  stable,  where  there  was  a  good  layer  of  hay  and 
plenty  of  good  food.  There  they  rested  until  midnight,  and  they 
then  returned  in  the  same  manner  as  they  had  come,  back  over 
the  frontiers. 


Lxxxvn 
PORUS  SAVED  BY  HIS  ELEPHANT 

KING  PORUS,  in  a  battle  with  Alexander  the  Great,  being 
severely  wounded,  fell  from  the  back  of  his  elephant.  The 
Macedonian  soldiers,  supposing  him  dead,  pushed  forward,  in 
order  to  rob  him  of  his  rich  clothing  and  accoutrements;  but  the 
faithful  elephant,  standing  over  the  body  of  its  master,  boldly  drove 
back  every  one  who  dared  to  come  near,  and  while  the  enemy  stood 
at  bay,  took  the  bleeding  Porus  up  with  his  trunk,  and  placed  him 
again  on  his  back. 

The  troops  of  Porus  came  by  this  time  to  his  relief,  and  the  king 
was  saved;  but  the  elephant  died  of  the  wounds  which  it  had  so 
bravely  received  in  the  heroic  defense  of  its  master. 


JNECDOTES    OF    ANIMALS 


171 


172  JNECDOTES    OF    ANIMALS 


Lxxxvra 
A  HUMANE  SOQETY 

A  LARGE  colony  of  rooks  had  lived  for  many  years  in  a  grove 
on  the  banks  of  a  river.  One  quiet  evening  the  idle  birds 
amused  themselves  Vi^ith  chasing  one  another  through  endless  mazes, 
and  in  their  flight  they  made  the  air  sound  with  many  discordant 
noises.  In  the  midst  of  this  play,  it  unfortunately  happened  that 
one  of  the  rooks,  by  a  sudden  turn,  struck  his  head  against  the  wing 
of  another.  The  wounded  bird  instantly  fell  into  the  river.  A 
general  cry  of  distress  followed.  The  birds  hovered  with  every 
expression  of  anxiety  over  their  distressed  companion. 

Encouraged  by  their  sympathy,  and  perhaps  by  the  language 
of  counsel  known  to  themselves,  he  sprang  into  the  air,  and  by 
one  strong  effort  reached  the  point  of  a  rock  that  projected  into  the 
river.  The  joy  became  loud  and  universal;  but,  alas!  it  was  soon 
changed  into  notes  of  sorrow,  for  the  poor,  wounded  bird,  in  try- 
ing to  fly  toward  his  nest,  dropped  again  into  the  river,  and  was 
drowned. 


JNECDOTES    OF    ANIMALS  173 


174  JNECDOTES    OF    ANIMALS 


LXXXIX 
A  MOTHER  WATCHING  HER  YOUNG 

THE  following  singular  instance  of  the  far-sighted  watchful- 
ness of  the  mother  turkey  over  her  young  is  told  by  a  French 
priest.  *'I  have  heard,"  he  says,  "a  mother  turkey,  when  at  the 
head  of  her  brood,  send  forth  the  most  hideous  scream,  without 
being  able  to  see  any  cause  for  it.  Her  young  ones,  however,  the 
moment  the  warning  was  given,  hid  under  the  bushes,  the  grass, 
or  whatever  else  seemed  to  offer  shelter  or  protection.  They  even 
stretched  themselves  at  full  length  on  the  ground,  and  lay  as  motion- 
less as  if  dead. 

In  the  meantime,  the  mother,  with  her  eyes  directed  upward, 
kept  up  her  cries  and  screaming  as  before.  On  looking  up  in  the 
direction  in  which  she  seemed  to  gaze,  I  discovered  a  black  spot 
just  under  the  clouds,  but  was  unable  at  first  to  decide  what  it  was. 
However,  it  soon  appeared  to  be  a  bird  of  prey,  though  at  first  at 
too  great  a  distance  to  be  distinguished.  I  have  seen  one  of  those 
mother  turkeys  continue  in  this  agitated  state  for  four  hours  at  a 
stretch,  and  her  whole  brood  pinned  down  to  the  ground,  as  it 
were,  the  whole  of  that  time,  while  their  foe  has  taken  its  circuits, 
has  mounted  and  hovered  directly  over  their  heads.  When  he,  at 
last,  disappeared,  the  mother  changed  her  note  and  sent  forth  a 


JNECDOTES     OF    ANIMALS  175 


176  JNECDOTES    OF    ANIMALS 

different  sort  of  cry,  which  in  an  instant  gave  life  to  the  whole  trem- 
bling brood,  and  they  all  flocked  round  her  with  expressions  of 
pleasure,  as  if  conscious  of  their  happy  escane  from  danger. " 


CX 

A  REFUGEE  SQUIRREL 

ASQURIREL,  whose  bad  luck  it  was  to  be  captured,  was 
lodged  for  safe  keeping  in  a  trap  used  for  taking  rats  alive. 
Here  he  remained  for  several  weeks,  till  at  length,  panting  for  lib- 
erty, he  managed  to  make  his  escape  through  a  window,  and  went 
back  once  more  to  his  native  fields. 

The  family  in  which  he  had  been  pet,  were  not  a  little  vexed  at 
the  loss  of  their  little  favorite,  and  the  servant  was  ordered  in  the 
evening  of  the  same  day  to  remove  the  trap,  that  they  might  no 
longer  be  reminded  of  their  loss.  When  he  went  to  do  this,  he 
found  to  his  surprise  that  the  squirrel,  all  wet  and  ruffled  by  the 
storm,  had  come  back,  and  again  taken  up  his  lodgings  in  the  cor- 
ner of  the  trap. 


JNECDOTES     OF    ANIMALS  177 


178  JNECDOTES    OF    ANIMALS 


xci 
ESCAPE  OF  JENGIS  KAHN 

THE  Mogul  and  Kalmuc  Tartars  give  to  the  white  owl  credit 
for  preserving  Jengis  Khan,  the  founder  of  their  empire; 
and  they  pay  it,  on  that  account,  almost  divine  honors.  The  prince, 
with  a  small  army,  happened  to  be  surprised  and  put  to  flight  by 
his  enemies.  Forced  to  seek  concealment  in  a  coppice,  a  white 
owl  settled  on  tlie  bush  under  which  he  was  hidden.  At  the  sight 
of  this  bird,  the  prince's  pursuers  never  thought  of  searching  the 
spot,  thinking  it  impossible  that  such  a  bird  would  perch  where 
any  human  being  was  concealed.  Jengis  escaped,  and  ever  after 
his  countrymen  held  the  white  owl  sacred,  and  every  one  wore  a 
plume  of  its  feathers  on  his  head.  The  Kalmucs  continue  the  cus- 
tom to  this  day,  at  all  their  great  festivals;  and  some  tribes  have 
an  idol  in  the  form  of  an  owl,  to  which  they  fasten  the  real  legs 
of  this  bird. 


ANECDOTES    OF   ANIMALS  179 


ISO  J  NEC  DOTES    OF   ANIMALS 


xcn 
A  SHREWD  GUESSER 

A  FRENCH  oflScer,  more  remarkable  for  his  birth  and  spirit 
than  his  wealth,  had  served  the  Venetian  republic  for  some 
years  with  great  valor  and  fidelity,  but  had  not  met  with  that  pre- 
ferment which  he  deserved.  One  day  he  waited  on  a  nobleman 
whom  he  had  often  solicited  in  vain,  but  on  whose  friendship  he 
had  still  some  reliance.  The  reception  he  met  with  was  cool  and 
mortifying;  the  nobleman  turned  his  back  upon  the  veteran,  and 
left  him  to  find  his  way  to  the  street  through  a  suite  of  apartments 
magnificently  furnished. 

He  passed  them  lost  in  thought,  till,  casting  his  eyes  on  a  most 
beautiful  sideboard,  where  a  /aluable  collection  of  Venetian  glass, 
polished  and  formed  in  the  highest  degree  of  perfection,  stood  on 
a  damask  cloth  as  a  preparation  for  a  splendid  entertainment,  he 
took  hold  of  a  comer  of  the  linen,  and  turning  to  a  faithful  mastiff 
which  always  went  with  him,  said  to  the  animal,  "Here,  my  poor 
old  friend,  you  see  how  these  haughty  tyrants  indulge  themselves, 
and  yet  how  we  are  treated!"  The  poor  dog  looked  his  master 
in  the  face,  and  gave  tokens  that  he  understood  him.  The  mas- 
ter walked  on,  but  the  mastiff  slackened  his  pace,  and  laying  hold 
of  the  damask  cloth  with  his  teeth,  gave  one  hearty  pull,  and  thus 


JNECDOTES     OF    ANIMALS  181 


182.         JNECDOTES    OF    ANIMALS 


brought  all  the  glass  on  the  sideboard  in  shivers  to  the  ground, 
thus  robbing  the  unkind  nobleman  of  his  favorite  exhibition  of 
splendor. 


xcm 
ARE  BEASTS  MERE  MACHINES? 

A  GENTLEMAN  one  day  talking  with  a  friend  said  that 
beasts  were  mere  machines,  and  had  no  sort  of  reason  to 
direct  them;  and  that  when  they  cried  or  made  a  noise,  it  was  only 
one  of  the  wheels  of  the  clock  or  machine  that  made  it. 

The  friend,  who  was  of  a  different  opinion  replied,  "I  have  now 
in  my  kitchen  two  dogs  who  take  turns  regularly  every  other  morn- 
ing to  get  into  the  wheel.  One  of  them,  net  liking  his  employment, 
hid  himself  on  the  day  that  he  should  work,  so  that  his  companion 
was  forced  to  mount  the  wheel  in  his  stead,  but  crying  and  wag- 
ging his  tail,  he  made  sign  for  those  about  him  to  follow  him.  He 
at  once  led  them  to  a  garret,  where  he  found  the  idle  dog,  drove 
him  out  and  killed  him  at  once. " 


./1NECD0TES     OF    ANIMALS 


183 


1S4  JNECDOTES    OF    ANIMALS 


xciv 
AN  ASS  CAST  AWAY 

AN  ass,  belonging  to  a  captain  in  the  Royal  Navy,  then  at  Mal- 
ta, was  shipped  on  board  a  frigate,  bound  from  Gibraltar 
for  that  island.  The  vessel  struck  on  some  sands  off  the  Point  de 
Gat,  and  the  ass  was  thrown  overboard,  in  the  hope  that  it  might 
possibly  be  able  to  swim  to  the  land.  Of  this,  however,  there  did 
not  seem  to  be  much  chance,  for  the  sea  was  running  so  high,  that 
a  boat  which  left  the  ship  was  lost.  A  few  days  later,  when  the 
gates  of  Gibraltar  were  opened  one  morning  the  guard  were  sur- 
prised by  Valiant,  as  the  ass  was  called,  presenting  himself  there 
for  admittance.  On  entering,  he  went  at  once  to  the  stable  of  a 
merchant,  where  he  had  formerly  lived.  The  poor  animal  had  not 
only  swum  safely  to  shore,  but  without  guide,  compass,  or  travel- 
ling map,  had  found  his  way  from  Point  de  Gat  to  Gibraltar,  a 
distance  of  more  than  two  hundred  miles,  through  a  mountainous 
and  intricate  country,  crossed  by  streams,  which  he  had  never  trav- 
elled over  before,  and  in  so  short  a  period,  that  he  could  not  have 
made  one  false  turn. 


JNECDOTES    OF   ANIMALS  185 


186  JNECDOTES    OF    ANIMALS 


XCV 
QUARRELSOME  APES 

THE  town  of   Bindrabund  in  India  is  in  high  regard  with  the 
pious  Hindoos,  who  resort  to  it  from  the   most  remote  parts 
of  the  empire.     The  town  is  surrounded  by  groves  of  trees,  which 
are   the  homes   of  numberless   apes,   whose   fondness   for  mischief 
is  increased  by  the  religious  respect  paid  to  them  in  honor  of  a  divin- 
ity of  the  Hindoo  mythology,  who  is  represented  as  having  the  body 
of  an  ape.     Because  of  this  superstition,   such  numbers  of  these 
animals  are  supported  by  the  free-will  offerings  of  pilgrims,  that 
no  one  dares  to  resist  or  ill-treat  them.     Hence,  access  to  the  town 
is  often  difficult;  for  should  one  of  the  apes   take  a  dislike  to  any 
unlucky  traveller,  he  is  sure  to  be  assailed  by  the  whole  communi- 
ty, who  follow  him  with  all  the  missile  weapons  they  can  collect, 
such  as  pieces  of  bamboo,  stones,  and  dirt,  making  at  the  same 
time  a  most  hideous  howling.     Of  the  danger  attending  a  meet- 
ing with  enemies  of  this  description,  the  following  is  a  melancholy 
instance.     Two  young  cavalry   officers,   belonging  to  the   Bengal 
army,  having  occasion  to  pass  through  the  town,  were  attacked 
by  a  body  of  apes,  at  whom  one  of  the  gentlemen,  had  foolishly 
fired.     The  alarm  instanly  drew  the  whole  body,  with  the  fakeers, 
rut  of  the  place,  with  so  much  fury  that  the  officers,  though  they 


JNECDOTES    OF    ANIMALS         187 


188  jlNECDOTES    OF    ANIMALS 

were  mounted  upon  elephants,  were  compelled  to  seek  safety  in 
flight;  and  in  trying  to  pass  the  Jumna,  they  both  of  them  were 
drowned. 


XCVI 
A  FALSE  ALARM 

SOME  years  ago,  a  soldier,  who  was  doing  duty  at  the  castle 
of  Cape  Town,  kept  a  tame  baboon  for  his  amusement.  One 
evening  it  broke  its  chains  unknown  to  him,  and  in  the  night  it 
climbed  up  into  the  belfry,  and  began  to  play  with  and  ring  the 
bell. 

Instantly  the  whole  place  was  in  an  uproar;  some  great  danger 
was  feared.  Many  thought  that  the  castle  was  on  fire;  others,  that 
an  enemy  had  entered  the  bay,  and  the  soldiers  actually  began 
to  turn  out,  when  it  was  discovered  that  the  mischievous  baboon 
had  caused  the  disturbance. 

On  the  following  morning  a  court-martial  was  held,  when  Cape 
justice  decided  that  whereas  the  baboon  had  unnecessarily  put 
the  castle  into  alarm,  its  master  should  receive  fifty  lashes.  The 
soldier,   however,   found   someway  to  evade  the  punishment. 


JNECDOTES    OF    ANIMALS  189 


k^^^^Hj 

1 

W^^^^^^^&^^^^^^mSSf^a 

i^HI 

^^^^^^PfwI^H^^^fe 

H 

1 

■IH 

190  JNECDOTES    OF   ANIMALS 


xcvn 
A  CHILD  SAVED 

A    SHEPHERD,  in  one  of  his  trips  to  look  after  his  flock,  took 
with  him  one  of  his  children,  a  boy  three  years  old.     After 
crossing  his  pastures  for  some  time,  followed  by  his  dog,  he  found 
it  necessary  to  ascend  a  hill  at  some  distance,  to  obtain  a  better 
view  of  his  range.     As  the  climb  was  too  much  for  the  little  child, 
he  left  him  on  a  small  plain  at  the  bottom,  telling  him  not  to  stir 
from  it  until  his  return.    Scarcely  had  he  gained  the  top  of  the  hill, 
however,  when  the  sky  was  darkened  by  a  thick  mist.     The  anx- 
ious father  at  once  hurried  back  to  find  his  child;  but  owing  to  the 
unusual  darkness,  he  missed  his  way.     After  a  fruitless  search  of 
many  hours,  he  discovered  that  he  had  reached  the  bottom  of  the 
valley,  and  was  near  his  own  cottage.     To  renew  the  search  that 
night  was  both  vain  and  most  dangerous;  he  was,  therefore,  com- 
pelled to  go  home,  although  he  had  lost  both  his  child  and  his  dog, 
that  had  attended  him  faithfully  for  many  years.     Next  morning, 
by  break  of  day,  the  shepherd,  with  many  of  his  neighbors,  set  out 
to  look  for  the  child;  but  after  a  day  of  searching,  he  returned  to 
his  home,  disappointed.     He  found  that  the  dog  which  he  had  lost 
the  day  before  had  been  to  the  cottage,  and  after  getting  a  piece 
of  cake,  had  at  once  gone  away  again.     For  several  days  the  shep- 


JNECDOTES     OF    ANIMALS 


191 


192  JNECDOTES    OF    ANIMALS 

herd  kept  up  the  search,  and  on  his  return  each  evening,  he  found 
that  the  dog  had  been  home,  had  received  his  usual  allowance  of 
cake,  and  then  had  instantly  disappeared.  Struck  with  this  strange 
behavior  on  the  part  of  the  dog,  he  remained  at  home  one  day; 
and  when  the  dog,  as  usual,  left  with  his  piece  of  cake,  he  decided 
to  follow  him,  and  find  out  the  cause  of  this  queer  procedure.  The 
dog  led  the  way  to  a  cataract  at  some  distance  from  the  spot  where 
the  shepherd  had  left  the  child.  Down  a  rugged  and  almost  per- 
pendicular descent  the  dog  began,  without  hesitation,  to  make  his 
way,  and  at  last  disappeared  by  entering  into  a  cave,  the  mouth 
of  which  was  almost  level  with  the  torrent.  The  shepherd  with 
difficulty  followed;  but  on  entering  the  cave,  what  was  his  joy,  when 
he  saw  his  lost  baby  boy  eating  with  much  satisfaction  the  cake 
which  the  faithful  dog  had  just  brought  to  him,  while  the  noble 
creature  stood  by,  looking  at  his  young  charge  most  lovingly.  The 
child  had  probably  wandered  to  the  brink  of  the  precipice,  and 
then  had  either  fallen  or  scrambled  down  till  he  reached  the  cave. 
The  dog  had  tracked  him  to  the  spot;  and  afterward  kept  him  from 
starving  by  giving  up  to  him  his  own  daily  portion  of  food.  He 
never  left  the  child  by  day  or  night,  except  when  he  went  for  the 
food;  and  then  he  was  always  seen  running  at  full  speed  to  and 
from  the  cottage. 


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